Long-Term Prospects

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Job Satisfaction

General quality of life statement

To be honest, the life of a writer is tough. You make less money than other college graduates and on average, people tend to be less satisfied.

Angst is like…writer steroids, though, right?

We know you're smart, so you probably expected that. Odds are, you didn't decide to become a writer because you wanted to be rich; you did it because you wanted to say something. Although it's nice to be financially stable, sometimes it's better to make less money doing something you love than earn millions doing something you hate.

You're a noble unicorn.

But if you ever get tired of living off of ramen, all you have to do is move on to a corporate gig. Sorry, Shmoop doesn't mean to sound like your mother. (Although, would it kill you to visit us more often?)

Many writers are surprised to find that working in advertising firms or marketing agencies can be a lot more fun and engaging than it seems like on the outside. Provided that you don't imagine yourself as a particularly happy Don Draper, get ready for some penny-pinching.

As a writer, you play the long game, balancing short-term stability with long-term success. Although we're constantly bombarded with overnight success stories, the truth is that most of these so-called "overnight sensations" have actually been writing for years and years without anyone noticing.

We can't all be Christopher Paolinis and become famous in our teen years.

…or can we?

Eh, probably not.

25th Percentile Salary

Median Salary

75th Percentile Salary

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