Content Writer Career Profile
- Career Name - Content Writer
- Category: Business / Media / Education / Wildlife Conservation / Marine Conservation / Zoos & Aquariums
- Skills Required: Life skills 40% - Career skills 60%
- Basic Subjects: Art, Business Studies, Biology
- Required Education: High School Certificate
- Species Worked With: Pets, Critters, Farm Animals, Wildlife
- Short Courses: 340 - Rewards = Points +Badges
Do you want to work as a content writer?
READ: This page helps you read about the career and the information you need to decide whether this is indeed the career you want to follow.
RESEARCH: Learn about the skills required and minimum subjects to enter this career, as well as the places where you can study further after school.
PREPARE: If you want to plan and prepare for your career, then join the OZT community! Members have access to tools while chatting with other students and experts from around the world. Prepare to be amazed!
CAREER MENTOR
UPDATED:
29 April 2024
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What is a content writer?
An animal content writer is a professional who specializes in creating written content related to animals, wildlife, pets, and animal-related topics. These writers produce engaging, informative, and entertaining content for a variety of purposes, including educational resources, marketing materials, website content, blogs, articles, social media posts, and more.
Alternative Names
Alternative names for an animal content writer may vary depending on the specific focus or context of their work. Some alternative titles or roles that encompass aspects of writing related to animals include:
- Wildlife Writer
- Zoological Writer
- Conservation Writer
- Nature Writer
- Pet Content Creator
- Animal Content Specialist
- Environmental Writer
These alternative names reflect the diverse roles, specialties, and applications within the field of writing related to animals, encompassing a wide range of topics, formats, and audiences within the animal community.
What does a Content Writer do?
Category:
Business / Media / Education / Wildlife Conservation / Marine Conservation / Zoos & Aquariums
Focus:
A content writer uses necessary skills to write content in the form of magazine articles, stories, newspaper articles, training modules, educational packages, printable media (flyers, posters etc).
Daily Tasks:
- Discuss brief with clients or supervisors
- Research the topic
- Write preliminary draft document
- Add the necessary photos to complete the story
- Presentation to clients of work done
- Create and add new work to a portfolio
- Administration and filing
Where they work:
Environment –
Content writers mainly work indoors. Their research could allow them to work outdoors, and in the field to study the animals and the different animal markets (such as farms etc).
Places of Employment –
Most content strategists are employed, which means that they work for a salary. They can be employed by marketing companies, government, agricultural organizations, sanctuaries, zoos & aquariums, and animal/ nature publications. They can also freelance (self employed) and work on a contract basis for anybody that wants to share information via the media.
Average Salary:
An entry content strategist may earn as much as $36,000 per year. This will increase with experience, and may differ between being employment type (working for a boss, or self), as well as from country to country.
Promotion:
There are opportunities to be promoted within this career or field, with the basic levels being:
Intern -> Junior Content Writer -> Senior Content Writer -> Content Strategist -> Manager or Supervisor
Difficulties:
The most difficult part of this job is the tight deadlines. This goes hand-in-hand with the volume of the work, which can be a bit daunting at times. Long working hours and work over weekend and holidays are unfortunately common.
Future growth and Possibilities:
The industry is expected to grow really well, as more small businesses realize the importance of creating content that pull in more customers or clients. The global content creation and marketing market has grown passed the $500 billion mark, and will continue to attract people who are specialists in specific fields.
3. Which Skills are required?
The skills required for a career as a content writer can be divided into two very important groups. The first is the group containing life skills, which are the core skills that are necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. The second group is career skills, or the specific skills required to allow a person to enter and operate effectively within a specific career. Some or maybe even all of the life skills can assist in strengthening the career skills, and they might even be the same for specific careers.
Life Skills:
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Decision making
- Problem Solving
- Effective communication
- Interpersonal relationship
Career Skills:
- Good business knowledge
- Good writing skills
- Basic customer service skills
- Good health and physical fitness
- Excellent computer literacy (writing and editing software)
4. Which Subjects must I have at School?
The subjects you choose at school are important as they lay the foundation for further studies at college or university. While still at school, it’s also important to learn more about the animals you will work with, as well as gain some experience.
OZT has a list of various tertiary institutions where you can study further, after school. Each of these institutions also have their own Group page on OZT where you will find the exact subjects they require of you to have passed in school. Keep these requirements in mind, and discuss it with your school, guidance counselor and parents to ensure that you are prepared!
5. What will I need to Study?
Minimum Requirements:
The minimum educational requirement to enter this career is a College diploma, or a Bachelor’s Degree.
Focus:
Majors –
Common majors include language, journalism, communications, creative writing, technical writing, copywriting and information management.
Additional Subjects –
Anything related to animal studies, such as zoology, animal behaviour, or animal husbandry.
Short Courses –
Short courses in subjects such as marketing, business strategies, presentation, campaigning and social media.
Duration:
The duration of College and Bachelor’s Degrees can be up to 3 or 4 years. Short Courses are usually between a few weeks and a year.
Possible Career Preparation Paths:
If this is your dream career that you want to pursue, then it’s important to plan the way forward.
Why is planning important?
To ensure that you understand the requirements for your career, and that you are always prepared for the next step on the road towards your dream. A Preparation Path is like your road map to where you want to be.
Possible Paths:
Possible Combined Career Paths:
It is possible to sometimes combine two or more related careers. This normally happens when you study and practice a specific main career, but the knowledge and experience gained also help you to have a paying hobby or secondary income career.
Possible Alternatives (there are a lot more):
Stepping Stone Career:
Being a content writer can also be used as a stepping stone career. A stepping stone career is one which is used to help you get to another career, normally because the other career is too difficult to reach (sometimes due to things like high fees etc).
You can begin as an intern content creator after basic short courses and expert guidance (maybe working under a mentor). The money made can then be used to pay for studies towards a promotion or another career, and the experience helps in gaining knowledge. One paying to help get to the other.
Some of the possible paths:
Training and apprenticeship:
Even though it is important to study to get into some of the animal careers, most of the skills you will need as a cartoonist will be acquired through practice. This means that you will learn how to perform some of the daily tasks by actually doing it a few times and learning the steps.
In some cases entry level positions (or junior writer positions) require training sessions even before you are allowed to actually perform your job duties. These sessions are offered by the place of employment, after you have successfully applied.
Apprenticeship is also possible where you need to learn skills from a more senior content creator or strategist.
Join the Content Writers Group in STEP 8 to learn more and even interact with the educational institutions that will help you secure your dream career!
Average level of education of all the people who enter the career:
6. Licenses, Certificate, Registration and Professional Associations
Certain animal careers require some form of legal certification to prove that you can indeed do the work, and work with the necessary equipment.
Although not required by law, certifications may help workers establish their credentials and enhance their skills.
Learn more about requirements by joining OZT in STEP 8.
Professional Associations:
7. Where can I study further?
All of the above information will help you understand more about the Career, including the fact that there are different paths to take to reach it. But if you are almost done with High School (Grades 11 or 12), you also need to start thinking about further studies, and WHERE you will study.
See the List of Universities, Colleges and Online Training Academies who offer courses towards writing.
8. Join the OZT community
Join us as a special member and learn more about becoming a content writer.
Members of the Platform have special access to:
- Info on the best places where you can study (colleges, universities and online)
- Expertly designed advice to prepare you for the career, and links to places where you can gain valuable experience. For some career experience is necessary, otherwise you wont get the job!
- Top notch info on each of the different species you will work with
- Make friends around the world and share knowledge
- Compete and win points, badges, games, prizes and certificates. Be the best of the best, while you learn and prepare!
If you have decided on being a Content Writer, please click on the JOIN GROUP button. Members will be directed to the Group, while non-members will be assisted to register first.
If this career is NOT the career for you, then you may return to the MAIN CAREER menu, and search for something different.
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