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I graduated with a double major in professional writing and education. Teaching was my plan, but finding a job in education isn't working out too well, so I would like to explore my options. What kinds of jobs do graduates get with a bach. in professional writing? I know that my skills with language are valuable, but I don't know what fields to look into and what kind of jobs I could apply for.
It's possible that you could try for the journalism field. But I should say that I tried to do the same thing, and ran right into a major-league sized Catch-22. Newspapers don't like to hire people without experience. But of course you can't get experience unless you work in the field. And so on, in circular fashion.
Advertising is probably your best choice. By that, I don't mean writing cheesy car ads, but really going to agencies that value great work. I cut my teeth in that business before become a writer. Others have too. You learn to be highly aware of audience, the need for concision, and the ability to handle dialog if writing for broadcast. Plus if you are good at it, it's a lot more fun that being a teacher--pays better, too.
IF you want to cut your teeth and get paid for it, you can write for regional magazines, specialized fields that might work well with your hobby, and most states publish magazine that are nice, too. Arizona Highways is one example that comes to mind. The New Mexico magazine is excellent, too. National Geographic has a magazine for adults and also for children. I"ve been published internationally twice in specialty magazines, and I wrote an entertainment column for .a newspaper for a couple of years. Financial magazines are a good source tool
If you are a good writer you will be noticed. Open a blog, News Vine is good place to be noticed, too.
Technical writing. Good money to be made especially in the engineering and health-related fields.
I work as a veterinary writer, but I couldn't have gotten my job without having advanced degrees in biology, and I suspect engineering might be the same way.
However, since the OP has degrees in both writing and education, I would suggest looking into one of those companies that does instructional design for adult education materials. One of the courses I wrote is used to teach veterinarians in Africa about certain diseases there. A local instructional design company took my text and designed a beautiful set of teaching modules from it. For jobs like that, you don't need the technical background since content experts provide the basic material, but the educational background might be helpful.
I graduated with a double major in professional writing and education. Teaching was my plan, but finding a job in education isn't working out too well, so I would like to explore my options. What kinds of jobs do graduates get with a bach. in professional writing? I know that my skills with language are valuable, but I don't know what fields to look into and what kind of jobs I could apply for.
If you can write a short-story, novella, and so forth.... Basically can you tell a yarn, a tall tale, or at least understand how to unfold the plot and resolve it coherently?
Then Please, get a copy of Analog, or Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines and read the collection of short stories they print. If you can write better prose than that.... would you please submit a story? Please? Please, with Whipped cream and strawberries on Top?
A Fan of Science Fiction short stories
who is bored with poorly written stories with no point to the plot.
If you can write a short-story, novella, and so forth.... Then Please, get a copy of Analog, or Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines and read the collection of short stories they print.
Uh, not really great advice, Phil. I've sold about 50 pieces of short fiction to the SF mags (I would imagine you've read my stuff if you're a fan), and it's a labor of love, not a career choice. Even if you could get a couple stories published every month, you'd still not make a living wage. And it's looking like the paying market for short fiction is shrinking, so the future outlook isn't much better. You should only consider writing for the SF magazines if you're already a reader of the genre, familiar with what's already been done and where the markets are now. And then, you would only be writing the stuff as a part-time gig for pocket change. If you are a reader and writer of SF, you need to be writing novels or screenplays to make any real money, and it's no picnic breaking into either of those fields.
An earlier suggestion -- tech writer -- is a good idea for a likely pay-the-rent writing job. Concentrate on something like that first.
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