Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers
Create original written works, such as scripts, essays, prose, poetry or song lyrics, for publication or performance.
- O*NET-SOC code
27-3043.05 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
BLS doesn't publish wages for Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers separately. These are the figures for Writers and Authors (27-3043), its parent occupation.
Median annual wage, U.S.$76,910
Employment, U.S.47,940
Median hourly wage$36.98
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $44,310 | $58,230 | $76,910 | $101,950 | $139,870 |
By state (48)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 180 | $66,950 | 0.28 |
| Arizona | 600 | $55,990 | 0.60 |
| Arkansas | 270 | $47,970 | 0.68 |
| California | 8,390 | $86,480 | 1.49 |
| Colorado | 1,300 | $76,830 | 1.46 |
| Connecticut | 480 | $98,460 | 0.92 |
| District of Columbia | 1,050 | $129,300 | 4.85 |
| Florida | 3,010 | $68,080 | 0.98 |
| Georgia | 820 | $74,710 | 0.55 |
| Hawaii | 60 | Not available | 0.30 |
| Idaho | 90 | $56,360 | 0.34 |
| Illinois | 2,640 | $68,220 | 1.40 |
| Indiana | 450 | $75,820 | 0.46 |
| Iowa | 290 | $61,010 | 0.60 |
| Kansas | 240 | $65,840 | 0.53 |
| Kentucky | 350 | $48,780 | 0.56 |
| Louisiana | 480 | $89,520 | 0.81 |
| Maine | 200 | Not available | 0.99 |
| Maryland | 540 | $104,330 | 0.63 |
| Massachusetts | 1,350 | $85,260 | 1.20 |
| Minnesota | 720 | $72,810 | 0.79 |
| Mississippi | 130 | $54,180 | 0.37 |
| Missouri | 600 | $58,140 | 0.67 |
| Montana | 90 | Not available | 0.56 |
| Nebraska | 240 | $65,470 | 0.75 |
| Nevada | 190 | $63,910 | 0.39 |
| New Hampshire | 180 | $71,830 | 0.85 |
| New Jersey | 1,180 | $81,590 | 0.90 |
| New Mexico | 90 | Not available | 0.34 |
| New York | 7,480 | Not available | 2.51 |
| North Carolina | 1,810 | $63,660 | 1.19 |
| North Dakota | 80 | $50,860 | 0.63 |
| Ohio | 830 | $65,930 | 0.49 |
| Oklahoma | 220 | $58,770 | 0.42 |
| Oregon | 950 | $80,540 | 1.56 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,080 | $77,410 | 0.58 |
| Rhode Island | 110 | $70,190 | 0.74 |
| South Carolina | 520 | $51,920 | 0.74 |
| South Dakota | 60 | $56,700 | 0.44 |
| Tennessee | 1,260 | $58,870 | 1.25 |
| Texas | 2,320 | $69,990 | 0.54 |
| Utah | 410 | $64,530 | 0.76 |
| Vermont | 110 | $94,430 | 1.23 |
| Virginia | 1,530 | $85,000 | 1.21 |
| Washington | 770 | $85,700 | 0.71 |
| West Virginia | 110 | $64,410 | 0.52 |
| Wisconsin | 710 | $64,370 | 0.78 |
| Wyoming | $49,650 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Writers and Authors | 4 | 0.973 |
| 2 | News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists | 4 | 0.940 |
| 3 | Editors | 4 | 0.934 |
| 4 | English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.921 |
| 5 | Communications Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.916 |
| 6 | Historians | 5 | 0.915 |
| 7 | Public Relations Specialists | 4 | 0.914 |
| 8 | Public Relations Managers | 4 | 0.912 |
| 9 | Curators | 5 | 0.910 |
| 10 | Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.908 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys | Service Orientation | 0.88 | 0.902 |
| Private Detectives and Investigators | Service Orientation | 0.76 | 0.879 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers, excluding software Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Final Cut Pro | 12 of 20 | 12.3x |
| QuarkXPress | 8 of 20 | 17.6x |
| Adobe After Effects | 9 of 20 | 10.1x |
| Adobe Dreamweaver | 10 of 20 | 7.8x |
| FileMaker Pro | 11 of 20 | 5.3x |
| 8 of 20 | 7.0x | |
| Hypertext markup language HTML | 9 of 20 | 5.3x |
| Drupal | 7 of 20 | 8.3x |
| Google Docs | 10 of 20 | 4.4x |
| Social media sites | 7 of 20 | 7.5x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.75 | 5.75 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.25 | 4.75 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.12 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.12 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.50 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.75 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 4.68 | 6.09 |
| Communications and Media | 4.05 | 5.45 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.36 | 4.05 |
| Administrative | 3.27 | 4.23 |
| Sales and Marketing | 3.23 | 3.81 |
| Fine Arts | 3.09 | 3.59 |
| History and Archeology | 2.77 | 3.50 |
| Psychology | 2.77 | 3.33 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.62 | 3.86 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 2.50 | 3.73 |
| Administration and Management | 2.48 | 3.05 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.45 | 2.36 |
| Education and Training | 2.27 | 2.82 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.23 | 1.86 |
| Foreign Language | 2.05 | 2.14 |
| Geography | 1.95 | 2.91 |
| Production and Processing | 1.91 | 1.73 |
| Law and Government | 1.86 | 1.82 |
| Telecommunications | 1.67 | 1.14 |
| Transportation | 1.64 | 1.27 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.59 | 1.41 |
| Design | 1.55 | 1.05 |
| Public Safety and Security | 1.50 | 0.91 |
| Mathematics | 1.45 | 1.00 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.27 | not rated |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.23 | not rated |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 1.18 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.14 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.09 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.05 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.00 | not rated |
| Chemistry | 1.00 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Written Expression | 4.75 | 4.62 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 4.25 | 4.25 |
| Originality | 4.12 | 4.50 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Oral Expression | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Information Ordering | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 2.88 | 3.50 |
| Far Vision | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Visualization | 2.50 | 2.75 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.38 | 2.62 |
| Memorization | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Perceptual Speed | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Time Sharing | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Number Facility | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Control Precision | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Depth Perception | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.00 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Adobe Acrobat hot
- Adobe Creative Cloud software hot
- Adobe Illustrator hot
- Adobe InDesign hot
- Adobe Photoshop hot
- Facebook hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- WordPress hot
- Apple iWork Pages
- Ashley Software Writer's Blocks
- AutoCrit Editing Wizard
- Bare Bones Software BBEdit
- Blogger
- Contour Storyteller
- Google Drive
- Literature & Latte Scrivener
- MasterWriter
- OpenOffice.org
- Power Structure
- Ravenshead Services WriteItNow
- Red Sweater MarsEdit
- RoughDraft
- ScriptPerfection Power Writer
- Skype
- Social media software
- Storymind StoryWeaver
- Text to speech software
All 35
- Tumblr
- WhiteSmoke
- Write Brothers Dramatica
- WriteWay Pro
- YouTube
Where it concentrates
BLS doesn't publish wages for Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers separately. These are the figures for Writers and Authors (27-3043), its parent occupation.
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington, NC | 180 | 3.13 | $47,940 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | 190 | 2.80 | $37,330 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 7,220 | 2.47 | Not available |
| Boulder, CO | 130 | 2.13 | $83,540 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1,560 | 2.13 | Not available |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 2,060 | 2.13 | $108,460 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 860 | 1.72 | $69,100 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 600 | 1.60 | $87,560 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 360 | 1.57 | $69,100 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 520 | 1.53 | $63,270 |