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Job outlook for principal technical writers in the United States
Principal technical writer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected principal technical writer job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 3,100 new jobs for principal technical writers are projected over the next decade.
Principal technical writer salaries have increased 7% for principal technical writers in the last 5 years.
There are over 19,570 principal technical writers currently employed in the United States.
There are 118,883 active principal technical writer job openings in the US.
The average principal technical writer salary is $66,896.
Are principal technical writer jobs in demand?
Principal technical writer job and salary trends over time
Principal technical writer jobs over time
Principal technical writer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19,570 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 20,088 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 20,860 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 20,692 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 20,532 | 0.01% |
Average principal technical writer salary over time
Principal technical writer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $66,896 | $32.16 | +2.5% |
| 2024 | $65,283 | $31.39 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | $64,386 | $30.95 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | $63,562 | $30.56 | +1.5% |
| 2021 | $62,594 | $30.09 | --0.6% |
Principal technical writer jobs by state
Most common states for principal technical writers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | 623,657 | 278 | 45% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 379 | 28% |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 178 | 26% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 264 | 25% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 144 | 25% |
| 6 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,325 | 24% |
| 7 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,308 | 22% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,174 | 21% |
| 9 | Delaware | 961,939 | 206 | 21% |
| 10 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,701 | 19% |
| 11 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 320 | 19% |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 197 | 19% |
| 13 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 142 | 19% |
| 14 | Alaska | 739,795 | 138 | 19% |
| 15 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,244 | 18% |
| 16 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 646 | 18% |
| 17 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 343 | 18% |
| 18 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,173 | 17% |
| 19 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,648 | 16% |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 923 | 16% |
Most common cities for principal technical writers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankfort | 1 | 4% | $53,688 |
| 2 | Annapolis | 1 | 3% | $68,607 |
| 3 | Dover | 1 | 3% | $60,234 |
| 4 | Juneau | 1 | 3% | $63,927 |
| 5 | Melbourne | 2 | 2% | $58,911 |
| 6 | Palmdale | 2 | 1% | $95,713 |
| 7 | Hartford | 1 | 1% | $68,411 |
| 8 | Lansing | 1 | 1% | $68,929 |
| 9 | Little Rock | 1 | 1% | $55,710 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $59,460 |
| 11 | Baton Rouge | 1 | 0% | $57,954 |
| 12 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $72,028 |
| 13 | Chandler | 1 | 0% | $79,333 |
| 14 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $62,198 |
| 15 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $53,003 |
| 16 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $59,191 |
| 17 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $94,787 |
Principal Technical Writer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of principal technical writer experts
Tusculum University
Colorado Mesa University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
University of Rhode Island
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Ohio Northern University
California State University, Los Angeles
California University of Pennsylvania
University of Minnesota
University of Oregon
Vicky Johnson Bós
Associate Professor of EnglishTusculum University
English Language And Literature
What will help Principal Technical Writers increase their earning potential?
Vicky Johnson Bós: Have practical experience in that field through a summer job, internship, or access to expertise. Getting a Master's Degree or even a PhD can greatly influence salary potential. Be aware that you may have to take a 'starting' job at less of a good salary to get practical experience to make the leap to a better paying job.
What general advice would you give to a Principal Technical Writer?
Vicky Johnson Bós: In order for a new college graduate to be successful in a career, they should have done/should do the following:
* Take advantage of an internship for practical experience
* Seriously consider a Master's Degree
* Have a portfolio of personal work to show during interviews
* Collect business cards of people in your future job market and network!
* Have a polished, professional resume`
What Principal Technical Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Vicky Johnson Bós: Students should be very familiar with using AI in responsible, informed ways to further their writing and research. Having people-skills will never go unused. Good writing and technological skills will become even more in demand with the growth of new, unexplored job markets.
Dr. Tiffany Kinney PhD
Associate Professor of EnglishColorado Mesa University
English Language And Literature
What general advice would you give to a Principal Technical Writer?
Dr. Tiffany Kinney PhD: Skills that are becoming important and prevalent over the next 3-5 years would include an ability to work with artificial intelligence, an ability to collaborate, and the ability to communicate.
What Principal Technical Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Tiffany Kinney PhD: In terms of general advice, students just entering the career field after graduating should apply far and wide. In other words, I would suggest that students not limit themselves because they might be surprised where they can land a job. With that said, they should still tailor their application materials for the job that they want, instead of just sending out the same materials again/again.
What will help Principal Technical Writers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Tiffany Kinney PhD: Skills that are becoming important and prevalent over the next 3-5 years would include an ability to work with artificial intelligence, an ability to collaborate, and the ability to communicate.
Randall Auxier
Professor of Philosophy and Communication StudiesSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville
Rhetoric And Composition/Writing Studies
What general advice would you give to a Principal Technical Writer?
Randall Auxier: Being the writer in your workplace can be seriously enhanced by the ability to do animation, illustration, graphics, charts, and to create good-looking documents with publishing software (e.g., Indesign). Being only the writer is limiting by comparison. Working with images of all kinds is almost as important as the writing.
What Principal Technical Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Randall Auxier: Writers have to be patient about this. The fields that were once supporting writers (e.g., journalism) have dried up. No one gets paid much for this kind of work any more. The best strategy is to seek a position that has upward mobility and become a writer in the fashion described above. You have to be good at it, of course, to increase your value to a company. Being sure that you are credited for everything you do, in the text, is very important, in creating a portfolio that makes you mobile. People will let you go uncredited unless you insist on being credited. Here you really must be bold. You are not moving your career forward unless you are credited for everything you do. No one can reasonably deny your request to be credited, so insist on it.
What will help Principal Technical Writers increase their earning potential?
Randall Auxier: At first it isn't going to be any fun. Writing is something every office needs --and being the person in the workplace who can do that provides a secure niche. You need not start in a job that has writing as one of its main requirements; rather, you take what you can get and then work your way into the writing role --any time something needs to be written, volunteer to do it. Soon you'll have more than you can handle. At this point, look for ways to get your writing seen as yours, newsletter, liaison with the communications office for your workplace, etc. Being known by your co-workers as a writer can lead all kinds of places, although not usually toward management. It's opportunity to write increasingly important things that counts as upward movement.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
John Pantalone: I don't think we have any idea what the long-term effects of the pandemic will be either in economic terms, health terms, or employment terms. It is much too soon to tell. Everything depends on what the government does, how corporations respond to the changing economic climate and evolving technologies. In the field of journalism, everything is up in the air and it will be years before we have a good idea of how journalism will evolve and survive.
What's a good job out of college for Principal Technical Writers?
John Pantalone: At this point, at the risk of being sarcastic, any job is a good job. The real answer is that it depends on the field you plan to go into and what you consider a good job. A livable wage with reasonable benefits is part of the equation; the other part is whether you genuinely enjoy the work.
What technical skills for a Principal Technical Writer stand out to employers?
John Pantalone: Hard to say. I'm sure good computer skills are important in any job, but so are strong communication skills. If by technical skills you mean software programs, etc., it again depends on the nature of the job/work. Knowledge of basic software, social media platforms, data interpretation all seem important now.
Kevin Pulz
Academic Department Chair/Senior Producer-Director, Milwaukee PBSMilwaukee Area Technical College
Television and Video Production/eProduction- Milwaukee PBS
What technical skills for a Principal Technical Writer stand out to employers?
Kevin Pulz: What skills AREN'T desirable to employers? Video Editors need to be motion graphics stars as well. Videographers are more valuable if they are photojournalists or video essayists in addition. On-line content mediators and creators are in demand as corporations that once flew in employees for training are finding all sorts of benefits to creating visual media locally and sharing globally.
There's no substitute for solid production skills and strength in technology as a whole; but there's a voracious appetite for cutting edge approaches to content treatment, acquisition and delivery. Possessing the ability to deliver on both the audio and video quality we've come to expect as well as the promise of developing fresh modes of content creating utilizing new and exciting technologies positions anyone early on their career well for long-term success in a rapidly challenging and exciting world of media.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
Kevin Pulz: There's no doubt that the pandemic has and will continue to have a clear impact on current college/university students and upcoming and recent graduates. The way things are 'done', for example, has been redefined in a fashion that in some ways makes traditional broadcast production unrecognizable. Studio camera operators have been replaced by fixed computer camera lenses for Zoom calls; efforts to collect high-quality audio have fallen to camera mics at best, and poor computer mics at worst in order to distance audio operators from talent or interview subjects; studio productions are a shell of what they once were; sports and event programming have diminished in frequency or disappeared altogether.
However, while many facets of media and broadcasting have seen a degradation of quality, content continues to flow. Rethinking the production process is not a bad thing, rather a challenging one. Local broadcasters may not be enjoying the large production teams they were before the pandemic, but viewing has not abated. Streaming content has exploded as it offers flexibility in accessibility to viewers and all of a sudden episodes of long forgotten shows appear quite palatable.
The landscape of these industries are evolving. The challenge is to be able to adapt to that evolution, all the while ensuring that high-quality skills remain attainable and sharp for the time when viewers no longer passively accept muddy or choppy looking video content on their 4k home screens.
What's a good job out of college for Principal Technical Writers?
Kevin Pulz: Broadcasting is still, strangely, considered a glamor field in so many ways. Little do people realize that cable wrapping and happily executed grunt work are essential talents that often separate the job recipient from the 5 interviewees and 95 applicants for a gig that pays less than fast-food work, even with a college degree.
So a good job out of college is ANY job in the field. Being 'in' and demonstrating one's ability in a professional environment remains key to opportunity in the future.
That said, it's clear that an area of media that's ripe for growth is multiplatform content delivery. It's in the wheelhouse of recent graduates based upon age and media consumption habits and, with traditional broadcast audiences growing older, an aspect of content creation that promises to grow even more legs as distribution methodologies develop and mature.
What's a day at work look like for a Principal Technical Writer?
Shane Tilton Ph.D.: This line of evidence is pointing to one central truth. Those that practiced multimedia journalism techniques before the pandemic will find success now. Also, organizations are looking for those graduates that can be a "one-stop-shop" for producing stories from home. I don't believe that trend will change. This trend also addresses the third question. Graduates are leaving colleges better prepared to use computer-mediated communication tools to complete their jobs' essential tasks. They understand how to be engaging and communicate effectively via their more contemporary communication tools.
What technical skills for a Principal Technical Writer stand out to employers?
Shane Tilton Ph.D.: Weirdly, the pandemic has been good to those trained in media production. All organizations now find themselves in the position to need to use digital media production tools more regularly. I can not count the number of conversations I have had with colleagues and interested parties looking for students and alumni to work with them to develop their media platform. Even if a student can not find a job in journalism, the skills they learn in our program are adaptable to a virtually endless number of organizations across the world. They know how to be effective communicators using media production tools.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
Shane Tilton Ph.D.: I have argued that the pandemic has dropkicked society, culture, and daily activities fifty years into the future. We are doing more decentralized work virtually from home. The journalism industry seems to have felt the boot prints of that dropkick as much as any industry. One of the continuous influences of COVID-19 post-pandemic appears to be the "home studio model" for broadcasters and journalism organizations. I would point to the "Room Raters" Twitter account as evidence for this claim. It seems that people are more comfortable with reporting from home. Journalism graduates are now presenting news stories in a quasi-informal manner. The general public seems to be okay seeing journalists in more business casual clothing than the power suit.
It has also fundamentally changed the functional roles of journalists. Contributors and correspondents show off their credibility by displaying the books they wrote on the shelves behind them or the visual artifacts of their subject of expertise. Anchors have a screen behind them, highlighting the story with some visuals. Citizen journalists are finding more accessible access to essential sources via Zoom or Skype. Reporters are framing their interviews via those services as well.
What technical skills for a Principal Technical Writer stand out to employers?
Kate Kurtin Ph.D.: Every article on the subject says that communication skills are the most important skills to have when on the job market - and this is not my bias speaking, even Warren Buffet said it! Public speaking, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, etc., these are things that stand out to employers.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
Kate Kurtin Ph.D.: Yes! Absolutely! We can only assume that the whole world will be affected by this pandemic for years to come. The workforce, for starters, will be tremendously affected. Currently, for example, there are limited service jobs in parts of the country. These are jobs that millions of graduates hold. We also have the highest unemployment rate in modern history. Once the country opens up again and companies begin to hire again, everyone who lost their job in the last year will be competing with recent graduates on the same job market. We saw this after the recession as well.
Speaking more positively, companies are now realizing that their employees can work effectively and efficiently from home. It has been predicted that this will shift many more traditional office jobs to permanent telecommuting. This is great news for graduates because they can broaden their job search.
I am also hopeful that creative industries will getting very busy soon. Personally, I teach in advertising and public relations and those industries will be in high demand.
What's a good job out of college for Principal Technical Writers?
Kate Kurtin Ph.D.: Any job that you are passionate about and brings you joy is a great job out of college. Don't look for a "forever job" after college, look for a job where you can learn and grow and support yourself.
What type of skills will young Principal Technical Writers need?
Dr. Christina Fisanick: College graduates in 2021 and beyond, need all of the skills that English programs have to offer: critical thinking, effective communication, creativity, and flexibility. New hires need to be able to adapt to workplace changes quickly and with aplomb, which requires critical thinking and problem solving and the ability to communicate those solutions to a diverse audience clearly and effectively. Those skills are refined and practiced regularly in English programs.
What general advice would you give to a Principal Technical Writer?
Thomas Reynolds: I think there will be a lasting impact of this pandemic on graduates. The nature of the field is that others in the industry (scientists, engineers, for ex.) often take on tech writing and communication tasks in tight economic conditions, or even just as a matter of a particular culture in a particular business. However, the field of technical communication has been predicted to have a strong future (see Bureau of Labor Statistics, which predicts growth in jobs in this field).
Technical writing and communication require that students are comfortable with technology and communication and that they adapt to changing situations. I think there are also opportunities for savvy graduates who can offer certain skills and experiences that are unique to the changing situation. This field has a long history of resilience for its graduates seeking jobs in tough circumstances.
What Principal Technical Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Thomas Reynolds: Technical writing and communication can span many fields. However, there are specific fields that are especially open to technical communication, such as information technology and computer software (technical documentation, for example), as well as medical and health fields. Many of our graduates work for companies that involve computer technology, such as software companies and content management for web consulting firms. In addition, many of our graduates work in biomedical companies that require technical and global documentation of medical devices.
I can't say that I know of a sure bet, but places that deal with medical technology, healthcare, and related fields are probably going to need people well-trained to communicate specialized knowledge to a variety of audiences and in a variety of ways. Telemedicine seems to have gained a more permanent stronghold in the healthcare system, and I imagine that the various communication channels involved in this new way of practicing medicine will open opportunities for well-trained graduates, such as ours who are willing to be pioneers in this area.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
Thomas Reynolds: Technology is constantly changing, and the pandemic has put a wrinkle on innovations that will have an impact on the field of TWC. Yet technical writing and communication have always involved changing technologies -- it is one of the hallmarks of the field. In addition, remote work is common in technical communication, and many scholars have written about the phenomenon, including global virtual teams and distributed workplaces. In any case, technical writers and communicators learn to think about the intersection of technology with the audience.
I think that traditional notions of communicationm such as establishing a friendly, businesslike ethos and considering the very real material circumstances of audiences, will remain uppermost as graduates adapt to the technological changes. Part of this work will also involve recognizing and working to improve social injustices that employers are increasingly in need of addressing. New technologies that emerge will also be part of the landscape for graduates, and they will be eager to learn these new tools.
Cristina Calhoon
Senior Career Instructor, Undergraduate AdvisorUniversity of Oregon
Department of Classics
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Principal Technical Writers?
Cristina Calhoon: Even before the pandemic, Classics-and the Humanities in general-had been coping with existential threats arising from the grafting of business models onto higher education. Administrators' exaggerated emphasis on metrics, a widespread mentality privileging "practical" skills over a more comprehensive education, and the prohibitive cost of college had forced Classics to adapt to changes.
Mergers with other departments and language programs, the fostering of distance learning and digital competence, curricula driven by large-enrollment courses in classics in English translation allowed some Classics programs to survive. The pandemic has made us rely more on the distance learning approach, but we still maintain most of our offerings. Some of our graduates are double majors, a solution I recommend when advising students who-dazzled by Classical Mythology or Archeology or other Classics courses-decide to switch from their "practical" major to Classics. Others decide to minor in Classics (Latin, Greek or Classical Civilization), because they still see great personal value in pursuing these studies.
Studying Latin or ancient Greek opens one's mind in so many different ways, all beneficial even from a "practical" standpoint: vocabulary skills, memorization, and analytical skills are necessary and transferable to any job. How does one learn to solve problems logically? By learning to organize Latin and Greek linguistic structures that work like jigsaw puzzles, unlike many modern Western languages. English is peppered with words of Latin and Greek origin, and our institutions (democracy, republic, libraries, the foundations of the western legal system, to quote just a few basic ones) are largely based on Greco-Roman ones. All this background knowledge gives our graduates a solid, comprehensive intellectual grounding and an enhanced view of our current predicament within a universal framework.