How much does someone with a creative writing major make right out of college?
Hello, I am a junior in high school and I've been putting a lot of thought into what I want to major in in college. Since a child, I've always put priority into a career I am interested in rather than the amount of money I make; however, I've realized that I should also place money as an important factor in addition to a fun job. #creative-writing
4 answers
Elizabeth’s Answer
This is a tough question to answer because it really depends. If you want to be an author then you may not get paid anything until your work is published. If you want to be a teacher and teach writing, literature, and english - then you could start anywhere between $30K and $50K depending on where you teach and what grade level. You could also work for a magazine, journal, or other organization that may offer you a full time role or allow you to freelance.
Most people that go into creative writing will find a full time position to pay the bills and then write on the side, sending submissions to publishers along the way.
Colby’s Answer
I am in the same position as Robyn and Lindsey. I have a degree in English and a Masters degree in Creative Writing (Poetry), but now work in Marketing. My advice is to think through all of the possible jobs that relate to writing. Is your end goal to write a novel, screenplays, poems etc? Each type of writing has different income potential. As a poet, I always knew I wouldn't be able to make a living strictly by writing poetry. I was okay with that though, because I wanted to write for pleasure not as a career. I knew that I would eventually take a job in a different field. It has worked out well though because I do quite a bit of writing in my current marketing job and I am very thankful for my writing background. My took a different approach. He also majored in Creative Writing in college and has a Masters in Creative Writing (in fiction). He works full time as a copy writer and writes for magazines and blogs on the side. It was much more important to him to have a job where writing was the main focus, so those are the types of jobs he has always looked for and worked in. It's up to you to decide whether writing is something you want to do in addition to your "day job," or if it's how you want to pay the bills.
Lindsey’s Answer
I actually have an English and creative writing degree, and I used it to go into sales and marketing. I did a lot of copywriting for promotional materials (flyers, catalogs, etc.) and even was able to write for a magazine that the company I worked for published. I loved copywriting because you could come up with some great headlines and write creatively, although sometimes you needed to follow a more professional template for writing. I would recommend looking into starting with a writing or editing job, and find some freelance jobs on the side. Once you establish a bit of a base (and hopefully a little bit of financial cushion), you can decide if you want to try to write on a full-time basis.
Robyn’s Answer
I'm in a similar position to Lindsey. I have an undergraduate creative writing degree plus a masters degree in creative writing, but now work in sales and marketing. I'd say it really depends what you do with it. I have friends from school who work as lecturers, publishers, waitresses, nonprofit organizers, social workers, lawyers, etc. As you can imagine, there's a huge range of salaries associated with those jobs.