Nebraska·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-3043

Best Writer programs in Nebraska, ranked by enrollment

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

15 schools in Nebraska run programs that feed this job, graduating 302 people a year. The job pays a median of $65,470 in Nebraska across about 240 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledAuthorNovelistCopywriterSongwriterFreelance WriterFreelance CopywriterAdvertising CopywriterAdvertisement Agency Copywriter (Ad Agency Copywriter)
Graduates / yr
302
in Nebraska
Median pay · Nebraska
$65,470
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
240
people employed
Schools
15
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
53%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,162
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Nebraska that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

10 programs in Nebraska that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Nebraska (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Nebraska page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 09.0101In Nebraska
103
34.1%
8$34,858$25,000
2
CIP 09.0401In Nebraska
41
13.6%
2$34,515$24,250
3
CIP 23.1302In Nebraska
38
12.6%
2$28,725$25,250
4
CIP 09.0100In Nebraska
35
11.6%
6$34,858$25,000
5
CIP 09.0402In Nebraska
33
10.9%
2$34,515$24,250
6
CIP 09.9999In Nebraska
24
7.9%
1$36,931$24,500
7
CIP 09.0102In Nebraska
10
3.3%
1$34,858$25,000
8
CIP 52.0501In Nebraska
10
3.3%
2$41,000$26,000
9
CIP 23.1304In Nebraska
7
2.3%
1$28,725$25,250
10
CIP 50.0504In Nebraska
1
0.3%
1$20,667$24,994

Top 15 schools in Nebraska

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 15 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE Public · 3 feeder programs
95Speech Communication and Rhetoric$39,70267%87%
2University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE Public · 4 feeder programs
90Creative Writing$26,36047%87%
3Creighton University
Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
28Journalism$43,13983%$27,35380%
4Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
20Communication, General33%$29,230
5Wayne State College
Wayne, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
15Mass Communication/Media Studies$35,83352%
6University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
13Rhetoric and Composition$35,72658%89%
7Midland University
Fremont, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Communication, General42%$23,16266%
8Southeast Community College Area
Lincoln, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
9Business/Corporate Communications, General38%
9Nebraska Wesleyan University
Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Speech Communication and Rhetoric$41,18866%$22,22580%
10Chadron State College
Chadron, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
5Speech Communication and Rhetoric50%
11Concordia University - Nebraska
Seward, NE Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
4Communication, General65%$22,39086%
12York University
York, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Speech Communication and Rhetoric52%$19,34652%
13Metropolitan Community College Area
Omaha, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
2Communication, General29%
14Doane University
Crete, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Communication, General57%$25,10398%
15Union Adventist University
Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Communication, General52%$20,543100%

All 15 schools in Nebraska

Every school in Nebraska with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Nebraska that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Nebraska - LincolnLincolnPublic953
University of Nebraska at OmahaOmahaPublic904
Creighton UniversityOmahaPrivate not-for-profit283
Bellevue UniversityBellevuePrivate not-for-profit201
Wayne State CollegeWaynePublic152
University of Nebraska at KearneyKearneyPublic132
Midland UniversityFremontPrivate not-for-profit91
Southeast Community College AreaLincolnPublic91
Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityLincolnPrivate not-for-profit71
Chadron State CollegeChadronPublic51
Concordia University - NebraskaSewardPrivate not-for-profit42
York UniversityYorkPrivate not-for-profit31
Metropolitan Community College AreaOmahaPublic22
Doane UniversityCretePrivate not-for-profit11
Union Adventist UniversityLincolnPrivate not-for-profit11

What writers and authors earn in Nebraska

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Nebraska
$65,470
Mean annual
$69,010
Jobs in state
240
What the range looks like
10th pct$44,230Median$65,47090th pct$93,600
Versus the national median
-14.9%

U.S. median $76,910. Nebraska pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.75×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Nebraska

Omaha, NE-IA
$67,390median
120 jobs
Lincoln, NE
$60,200median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.6%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
13,400
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
4,900
135,400 → 140,300
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus long-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Writers and Authors page.

How to become a Writer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

WritingReading ComprehensionSpeakingActive ListeningCritical ThinkingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Nebraska

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 19 majors mapped to Writers and Authors19 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 09.0100Communication, General
  • 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
  • 09.0102Mass Communication/Media Studies
  • 09.0401Journalism
  • 09.0402Broadcast Journalism
  • 09.9999Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other
  • 19.0202Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Communication
  • 23.1301Writing, General
  • 23.1302Creative Writing
  • 23.1303Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing
  • 23.1304Rhetoric and Composition
  • 23.1399Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Other
  • 23.1401General Literature
  • 23.1405Children's and Adolescent Literature
  • 23.1499Literature, Other
  • 50.0504Playwriting and Screenwriting
  • 50.0511Comedy Writing and Performance
  • 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
  • 52.0599Business/Corporate Communications, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing writers and authors programs in Nebraska.

What degree do you need to become a Writer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Speech Communication and Rhetoric, which awarded 103 degrees in Nebraska in 2024-25, 34.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Writer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Journalism, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Communication, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 302 people a year in Nebraska.

How much do writers and authors earn in Nebraska?+

The median is $65,470 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 14.9% below the U.S. median of $76,910. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for writers and authors growing?+

BLS projects a +3.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 13,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Nebraska?+

15 institutions in Nebraska reported graduates from at least one of the 10 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do writers and authors work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Author, Novelist, Copywriter, Songwriter, Freelance Writer, Freelance Copywriter among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-3043.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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