Whenever an English major graduates, they often find themselves faced with finding a way to make income from a creative art - and this year a fair number of them are asking, “What are the best technical writing fields of 2008?”

Finding the Best Technical Writing Fields of 2008

According to a 2008 article on JobWeb.com
titled “Class of 2008 Steps Into Good Job Market,” the top ten degrees in demand don’t hint at what the best technical writing fields are. However if you review the list closely, you’ll recognize an important advantage to English graduates who excel in creative writing.

Mastering the Art of Writing

The JobWeb.com article lists the usual top “in demand” degrees, including
almost all technical, computer, business, and finance. No surprise there. But what these lists don’t share is a unique new trend that should have creative writing enthusiasts smiling from ear-to-ear. And that is - most technically savvy individuals do not have a clue when it comes to writing. All of the things you’ve learned in the course of earning that English degree may seem useless when you’re undertaking the daunting task of finding a job that actually pays. However, you can earn a substantial living if you’ve mastered the written word.

Success in Freelance Writing

Conduct a search for “freelance jobs,” and you’re likely to get inundated with an endless array of shady looking “job search” sites where you’ll find
“projects” posted for bidding. These are usually run in an auction-style format where you need to bid on a project against an array of other writers. Some of these are legitimate, but others are worthless. Yes, it really is possible to make money by freelance writing, but where do you start? One of the biggest reasons I’ve started this blog is to help good writers learn how to do just that.

Making Money in the Best Technical Writing Fields

I started out as a freelance writer out of necessity. My family needed more money, but I didn’t want to work a second job at night and leave my family alone at home, so I started writing from home. I started out on many of those freelance auction sites, and then before long I’d impressed enough of the people I’d networked with, that the existing client base kept me working as much as I possible could. Before long, there was not even any need to look for a job - they just kept on coming!


Online Technical Writing Fields

The internet has introduced a whole new ballgame for English graduates. An entire world of a seemingly infinite number of websites has been born, and website content is now in demand. Webmasters outnumber good writers by such a large degree, that a huge majority of new websites sit dormant and empty as webmasters search for someone with the ability to produce high-quality, SEO optimized unique content.

This need has opened up an entire niche market for English majors that never existed before, and the sad part is, so many creative writers and technical writers who would excel in this field either do not know about it, or they are stuck in the “old-school” literary mentality where Internet writing is “beneath” them. Meanwhile - the rest of the smart writers are left to reap the financial rewards. How? It’s not that hard, and you don’t need to be a technical writing genius.

• Freelance Websites - One good example of a high volume freelance site is Scriptlance. You’ll find yourself competing with writers from India who can hardly string together a coherent sentence, but once a few of the web designers realize the quality of your work (you’re allowed to provide samples), you’ll get hired quickly. But at first, you’ll need to keep your rates competitive - you can raise them later, once you’re established. This blog will host a review of the top Freelance Websites in coming weeks.
• Advertisements - One of the last places most writers look for work are free online ad communities. Yes, while you may need to sift through countless ridiculous “work-at-home” ads - more and more you’ll discover webmasters, lawyers, and businesses seeking anyone who can write exceptionally well to develop content for their websites.
• Get a Job - Sure, as an English major, you’re sick of hearing that phrase from family and friends. Maybe you’d like to focus on writing that first novel, instead. Well, you can still support your family by signing up to write for the many blogs and websites that pay writers an actual fixed “salary” for writing a certain number of articles or posts every month. Didn’t think such a job really existed? Well it does - and many pay fairly well.
• Earn Royalties - There are countless websites that offer to pay writers royalties on the ad revenue their articles earn. Honestly, this is a way for websites to take advantage of writers. You could earn more by starting your own blog and posting your own articles. Except for one thing - they’ve got traffic that you ain’t got. So that means that while you’re not working on writing projects, you should be building an entire archive of “revenue-earning” articles at as many of these sites as you can find. These will be reviewed in future blog updates as well.

The Internet has Opened a Whole New World of Writing

Whether you’re a recent college English graduate, or you are a stay-at-home partent with exceptional writing skills, you can work from home and earn a fortune. Writing has been an undervalued skill for many years. But now - writers are going to take over the online world. Through patience, research, and hard work, you can build an amazing career within this unique and promising niche. Subscribe to this blog today, follow along every day, and get ready to kick-start your writing career.

Coming Next: The path to work from home and earn over $50,000 a year.