Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers
Create original written works, such as scripts, essays, prose, poetry or song lyrics, for publication or performance.
About the profession
Create original written works, such as scripts, essays, prose, poetry or song lyrics, for publication or performance.
How to Get Started
Take a personality test to see if Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers fits your profile
Career Match Test →Explore the Career Path section to see progression from junior to senior
Jump to Career Path →Start learning — check the Learning Path for free courses
Jump to Learning Path →Video
Occupation on screen: Technical Writers (O*NET 27-3042.00). The Department of Labor publishes one film per occupation family, and this is the film it lists for Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (27-3043.05), which is how Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers is classified. Closed captions in English and Spanish. CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)
Personality Fit
Based on the Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers role, here are the RIASEC personality types that tend to thrive in this career. While these alignments are common, individual success depends on motivation, skill development, and finding the right work environment.
Artistic
Creative, expressive, original thinking
Social
Helping, teaching, working with people
Investigative
Research, analysis, problem-solving
Not sure if these types match you? Take the full RIASEC assessment to discover your personality profile and see how it aligns with hundreds of careers.
Career Path
Your career progression roadmap with salary growth at each level
Career Ladder
Junior Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writer → Associate Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writer → Senior Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writer → Lead Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writer
Where are you on this career path?
Click a level below to set your current position
Salary Growth
4
Levels
$148K
Top Salary
8+
Years
Learning Path
Skills you need to develop and courses to get there
🚀
Set your current level first
Go to the Career Path tab and select your current level to see your personalized learning plan.
Go to Career PathCareer levels
Timeline: 0-2 | Entry Level Base: $40,900 - $67,735/year With equity/bonuses: $44,990 - $81,282 Top markets (SF/NYC): $47,035 - $81,282 Execute core tasks using Writing under…
Skills used in this career
Click any skill to see how to learn it and what salary boost it gives
Day in Life
Junior vs Senior, daily schedule breakdown
9am, Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.
Income Dynamics
Conservative and aggressive scenarios for 10–15 years
Year 1: Entry level $28,630 - $60,962 Year 2-3: Junior level $67,735 - $89,842 Year 4-6: Mid level $89,842 - $97,407 Year 7-10: Senior level $97,407 - $127,475 Year 10+:…
Is this for me?
Answer honestly
You find the craft of a Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writer genuinely interesting, not just a paycheck You enjoy working with Writing and Reading Comprehension You communicate…
💰 Pay for Writers and Authors
BLS OEWS, May 2023The federal survey does not count this job title on its own — it is counted under Writers and Authors (27-3043).
Half of U.S. workers in this occupation earn more than this, half earn less.
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Create Free AccountPersonality types that fit this career
Based on career-match data from our Result Library:
The fit level is JobCannon’s editorial rating of how well a result suits this career — not a statistical prediction. How we rate each test’s validity →
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Related Holland / RIASEC Types