Discovering a Dream Career: Freelance Technical Writing

The purpose of this empirical research report is to research the field of freelance professional communication and to discuss the findings from this research. Through my research, I have discovered that finding work as a freelance professional writer, or a contract professional writer, can be difficult yet the flexibility it allows makes this a rewarding career field. Despite the difficulty in getting work, and the fact freelancers are paid less on average than regularly employed writers due to higher wages but less working hours, I am still interested in this career and look forward to sharing what I have found.

RESEARCH METHODS

Most of the information I used to compile this report came from two personal interviews with working freelance editors. I felt the most important information I could retrieve would be from those who know freelance editing firsthand. I interviewed Nikole Eyre, an instructor at Utah State University, who works freelance part-time. The second interview I did was with Casey Allen, a recent Utah State University graduate who is now doing contract professional writing with the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art on university campus.

For this empirical research report, I also found three advertisements for job postings that are seeking freelance professional writers. Because I would like to work in the media or entertainment industry as a freelance copywriter and/or editor, the three job advertisements I used are all for freelance editors working in television, magazines, or online media.

I also studied the chapter entitled "Freelancing" from The Practice of Technical and Scientific Communication by J.A. Lutz and C.G. Storms. David N. Dobrin, a freelance technical writer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wrote this chapter.

I also pulled information from the Bureau Labor of Statistics' section on writers and editors. This website focused primarily on salaried or regular employees but there was information on independent contractors as well, including salary information, job outlook, and advancement opportunities as you will see later on in this report.