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Boston Career Explorer

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Writers and Authors

Originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.

Also called: Advertising Copywriter, Advertising Writer, Author, Content Marketing Writer, Copywriter, Freelance Copywriter

Median pay in Greater Boston
$85,260
$40.99/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
1,130
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+2.7%
330 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree
plus Long-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$59,150$72,400$85,260$108,030$138,950

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.
  • Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers.
  • Present drafts and ideas to clients.
  • Edit or rewrite existing written material as necessary, and submit written material for approval by supervisor, editor, or publisher.
  • Conduct research to obtain factual information and authentic detail, using sources such as newspaper accounts, diaries, and interviews.
  • Vary language and tone of messages based on product and medium.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure83 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 71
  • Language-model AIOE 80
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 99

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

Writing has higher AI exposure, and observed AI use is substantial. Tools can draft, rewrite, and edit text. Federal projections say some written work will be generated by AI instead of by writers, though Massachusetts jobs are still projected to grow 2.7%. Interviewing, original research, and working directly with clients still rely on people.

Likely to change

  • Producing first drafts of articles and copy
  • Rewriting and editing existing text

Still relies on people

  • Interviewing sources and gathering authentic detail
  • Presenting ideas and drafts to clients

What federal projections say

“Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as more written works are generated by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, substituting for some writers.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

48 programs near Boston (plus 20 graduate)

Related occupations

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