Whether you’re looking to switch jobs or you’re just graduating from high school, you may be wondering if it’s worth getting a degree related to writing.
Do you need a degree to be a writer? No, you don’t! In some ways, having a degree may help. But it could also just put you tens of thousands of dollars in debt without any better job prospects. I became a full-time freelance writer without any formal education or experience, and you can too!
In this article, I’ll explain whether you need a degree to start writing for a living or not.
Do You Need A Degree To Be A Writer
No, you don’t need a degree to become a writer!
While it can be useful and put you on the right path, it’s absolutely not necessary.
In fact, going to university and studying a writing-related field may actually set you back.
School could put you thousands of dollars in debt. Education isn’t necessarily a shortcut to a great-paying writing career, and you still have to put in the work.
You might find that it’s better to spend the years you’d be in school to build up a portfolio and initial set of clients for yourself instead.
My Story of Becoming A Writer Without A Degree
I’ve always been passionate about writing.
I took a “writer’s craft” elective class in Grade 11 and loved it. But my parents told me that I should pick a more profitable and stable career with better job prospects.
Their reasoning was that I could always write in my spare time. The truth is that isn’t necessarily true. Because by the time you get home from working in an office for 8 hours, your brain is fried and you just want to veg out in front of the TV instead of writing.
But anyway, I chose to follow their advice and pick a more practical career. So I went to college and university for accounting.
I got an internship for the summer. It paid awesome, but within a few weeks I felt it draining the life out of me. I hated the interactions I had to have with people, and I gained a ton of weight while working there.
After I graduated, I went overseas for a few years and worked another accounting job that I didn’t enjoy.
Then I came back to Canada and worked another accounting job that I hated for a few more years.
Finally I decided enough was enough. I literally couldn’t see myself working to retirement for another 40 years, just hating every day of my life. So I had to give freelance writing a chance, because it seemed like pretty much my only out to a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
I didn’t have any related experience or education. I just did it.
I started by reading a bunch of articles and watched a bunch of Youtube videos about how to become a freelance writer. And then I just did it.
I signed up for a Textbroker account to see what it was like. I started working for an hour or two in the evening. Or even sneakily writing short articles at my desk in the afternoon at work if things were slow and my boss wasn’t around.
Then I finally decided it was the right choice for me. I let my boss know that I would be leaving in a few months to start my own business as a freelance writer. And the rest is history.
Working In The Digital Age
Nowadays with the internet, you can be pretty much whatever you want to be.
Some things like becoming a lawyer or a surgeon still very much require you to go to a formal institution. But a large proportion of other jobs don’t have that requirement any more.
Bachelor degrees used to be something special. But nowadays they’ve basically just become the equivalent of a high school diploma. Everyone has one, so are they really worth anything any more?
Instead of investing thousands of dollars in a traditional education, people are turning to online courses and learning materials instead.
Anyone can learn to be a world class photographer, graphic designer, computer programmer, or writer without ever stepping foot in a classroom.
Sure, you’ll still need to learn some stuff to become a writer. But it’s all available online for free or a very low cost.
Most famous authors never went to school to study literature. They just followed their passion, and you can too.
Unless you’re writing very technical stuff, there’s not really any need for an education or degree to get started with writing.
If you’re writing books, people will buy them if they’re compelling and interesting. And if you’re a freelancer, businesses will hire you based on the results that you can deliver. Not having a degree.
Conclusion
Studying any writing-related topics at a university level could have its benefits. But for a lot of people, it just ends up putting them thousands of dollars into debt without any better job prospects than someone without a degree.
Nowadays you can teach yourself to be a writer online with a vast array of free materials and videos. If you have the discipline and determination, you can go from zero experience to a full-time writer if that’s your dream.