If you’re a freelance writer, it’s not news to you that marketing is a great profession for writers. Journalism, editing, proofreading, creative writing teacher—all of these are jobs recommended to any English major looking to find their first job out of school. 

But writing is a crucial skill in so many other jobs, too. If you’re looking to go back to a regular 9–5, make a career change without leaving writing behind, or give advice to an unemployed writer friend, there’s more to writing skills than the publishing industry.  

Lawyer

An English degree is a common major for students who go on to enroll in law school. No matter what kind of law you practice, a lot of your job will involve arguing your point. Talented writers often make great lawyers because they know how to craft a compelling, clear, and well-supported argument that is easy to follow and covers any relevant counterarguments. 

Lawyers need to make complicated issues understandable for a jury, they need to lay out their reasoning, and they need to address rebuttals. It doesn’t matter how sure you might be of your position in your own mind; if you can’t make it clear to a judge, a jury, or other lawyers, your career won’t go very far. 

Administrative Assistant 

Administrative professionals need to have excellent communication skills. In this day and age, when making cold calls is no longer the norm (and is sometimes even frowned upon), that makes written communication a must. 

Whether you’re a freelance personal assistant, a high-ranking executive assistant, or an office manager, it’s your job to be the public face of your office, client, or boss. That means coming across as polite and personable while still sounding appropriately professional. Often you’ll need to maintain that careful balance of tone while delivering bad news, like when your boss has to cancel a meeting, or while being stern, like when the office interns aren’t filing requests for PTO on time. Depending on what kind of work you do, you might need to quickly change tone depending on whom you’re communicating with, and you might also need to be able to communicate in both formal emails and quick texts. 

A great deal of administrative work is simply communication, so it stands to reason that an expert writer would do well in those positions. 

Public Relations and Publicity 

This is an area of the corporate world you might not have thought of when it comes to writers, but when you think about it, PR is just another form of marketing. Whether it’s a public statement from a corporation or an Instagram caption for a celebrity, words matter more than anything in the public eye. It’s like being a speechwriter for a politician. How do you want the company to come across? What issue are you addressing? Sometimes public relations departments also take on the work of event coordinating and social media management, both of which need excellent communicators. 

Grant Writer

This one’s pretty obvious since “writer” is there in the title. But what does a grant writer do?

 Grant writers often work for nonprofits, schools, or any other place that receives donations and external funding. The work of a grant writer is to look for funding opportunities that align with their organization and craft grant proposals that outline how the funds would be used, why their organization’s project is the best use of those funds, and prove their organization is eligible for the money. Grant proposals can often include statements from people within the organization, budget outlines, and predicted outcomes. 

A good grant proposal needs someone who can look at the big picture of a document and ensure that it follows a compelling trajectory while also maintaining strong attention to detail for each individual section. Those are, of course, the same skills it takes to write a great novel! 

Research Analyst

Similar to the writing skills that will help you be a great lawyer, the ability to communicate arguments in writing is essential for research analysts.  

Depending on where they work, a research analyst might study consumer habits, sales opportunities, or financial records. Working with data does mean working with numbers, especially statistics, but the most important thing is how you communicate what those numbers mean. 

Businesses rely on research analysts to make choices, correct mistakes, and plan investments. If a researcher knows their data and knows what the right direction is, they’ll need to communicate their reasoning effectively or they won’t convince anyone. 

Writing is a Superpower

Any job that relies on thoroughly communicating your argument is going to be a great fit for someone with writing skills. And, really, are there any jobs that don’t involve making convincing arguments in some fashion? 

Even though writers know their skills are invaluable, it sometimes feels like the rest of the world doesn’t know that writers make everything possible. But when you remember that writing also means communicating, making arguments, and sharing information, then you’ll see that writers are valued all over the professional landscape.

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog. When not writing or reading, she is a fiber and textile artist who sews, knits, crochets, weaves, and spins.