Technical Writer Job Outlook 2006-2016

Below are snippets of information about the job outlook for technical writers. This information comes directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (online). The links for the blocks of text or tables are included above each selection:

Job prospects. Opportunities should be best for technical writers and those with training in a specialized field. Demand for technical writers and writers with expertise in areas such as law, medicine, or economics is expected to increase because of the continuing expansion of scientific and technical information and the need to communicate it to others. Legal, scientific, and technological developments and discoveries generate demand for people to interpret technical information for a more general audience. Rapid growth and change in the high-technology and electronics industries result in a greater need for people to write users’ guides, instruction manuals, and training materials. This work requires people who not only are technically skilled as writers, but also are familiar with the subject area.

NOTE: Data in this table are rounded. See the discussion of the employment projections table in the Handbook introductory chapter on Occupational Information Included in the Handbook.
Occupational title	SOC Code	Employment, 2006	Projected employment, 2016	Change, 2006-2016
Occupational title	SOC Code	Employment, 2006	Projected employment, 2016	Number	Percent
Writers and editors	27-3040	306,000	336,000	30,000	10
Editors	27-3041	122,000	124,000	2,800	2
Technical writers	27-3042	49,000	59,000	9,600	20
Writers and authors	27-3043	135,000	153,000	17,000	13

Employment

Employment
RSE

Mean hourly
wage

Mean annual
wage

Wage RSE

47,460

1.9 %

$30.87

$64,210

0.7 %

Percentile

10%

25%

50%
(Median)

75%

90%

Hourly Wage

$17.55

$22.64

$29.62

$37.94

$46.86

Annual Wage

$36,500

$47,100

$61,620

$78,910

$97,460

Area name

Employment(1)

Employment percent relative standard error(3)

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage(2)

Wage percent relative standard error(3)

Annual median wage(2)

Alabama

540

10.6

24.43

50800

2.8

51790

Alaska

29.5

(8)-

Arizona

780

18.2

28.04

58310

5.0

55320

Arkansas

220

16.0

19.04

39610

5.4

41260

California

6670

6.5

35.05

72910

2.3

70420

Colorado

1300

10.3

29.05

60420

1.8

58800

Connecticut

680

8.2

29.09

60500

1.7

57330

Delaware

110

32.0

26.84

55840

3.1

56050

District of Columbia

610

14.9

29.88

62140

3.8

59250

Florida

1760

11.0

26.86

55870

3.4

55450

Georgia

1190

14.2

27.65

57510

2.4

55580

Hawaii

27.1

34.96

72720

6.3

72540

Idaho

560

23.9

25.45

52940

3.5

51030

Illinois

1310

10.2

28.94

60200

1.9

60380

Indiana

480

13.6

25.58

53200

2.7

50260

Iowa

380

9.4

22.58

46960

1.5

45980

Kansas

370

9.1

22.92

47670

2.1

46410

Kentucky

270

12.2

22.28

46340

3.3

46720

Louisiana

120

20.0

24.62

51200

7.9

47320

Maine

13.4

25.11

52240

3.5

49460

Maryland

1840

8.2

29.98

62360

1.7

60620

Massachusetts

2320

6.5

33.32

69310

1.3

68640

Michigan

1600

8.8

28.94

60190

1.9

56840

Minnesota

930

6.2

27.50

57200

1.1

56660

Mississippi

190

49.6

24.16

50250

5.6

53790

Missouri

800

34.0

26.75

55640

2.8

50720

Montana

24.3

21.84

45430

4.5

43100

Nebraska

180

7.8

22.55

46910

2.4

48300

Nevada

230

14.4

30.99

64470

6.9

53770

New Hampshire

250

10.8

31.88

66300

3.2

63840

New Jersey

1530

8.2

31.94

66440

1.9

63710

New Mexico

280

21.4

24.28

50500

2.8

48760

New York

2090

10.8

31.40

65320

3.8

59820

North Carolina

1000

4.5

27.44

57080

2.3

55110

North Dakota

10.5

21.96

45680

3.3

43750

Ohio

1400

15.5

24.12

50170

2.7

49970

Oklahoma

420

25.8

19.99

41580

6.7

39630

Oregon

630

12.1

28.95

60210

2.8

60170

Pennsylvania

1610

7.4

26.20

54490

2.0

54150

Puerto Rico

18.9

19.18

39890

6.1

38760

South Carolina

310

11.1

24.45

50850

3.7

50790

South Dakota

15.5

20.58

42800

2.2

41870

Tennessee

430

15.3

22.08

45930

4.4

47620

Texas

3390

6.8

26.89

55940

1.9

52760

Utah

920

16.5

26.37

54850

1.7

53800

Vermont

120

19.3

24.50

50970

5.2

51680

Virginia

2380

7.8

31.34

65190

3.0

62580

Washington

1630

11.0

34.41

71580

5.9

70340

West Virginia

10.6

20.73

43120

3.9

40700

Wisconsin

800

11.4

24.48

50920

1.3

50090

Wyoming & Rhode Island not included

Total*

45190

26.48**

55080**

53544**

Footnotes:
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by 2,080 hours; where an hourly mean wage is not published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
*Total line not derived from BLS Create Customized Tables; it's my calculation.
**Alaska not included.

SOC code: Standard Occupational Classification code -- see http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm
Data extracted on May 2, 2008

For my perspicacious audience, why is it not appropriate to derive the hourly mean rate, annual mean wage, and annual median wage by adding up the totals for each category and dividing by the number of values in each category (49 in these blue highlighted cases)? That's how I got the total line, but it's wrong...why?

National estimates for this occupation: