20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You usually split time between researching, interviewing subject-matter experts (SMEs), and writing or editing documents. Expect blocks of 1–3 hours for drafting user guides, SOPs, or online help in tools like Atlassian Confluence or Adobe InDesign.
Afternoons often have review cycles: revise text after SME feedback in JIRA tickets, work with a designer on an Illustrator or Photoshop asset, then update version history and files in your content system. You’ll log changes and keep records of revisions.
Start with Confluence and JIRA from Atlassian because teams use them to store docs, track edits, and manage reviews. They’re how you submit drafts, handle tasks, and link feedback to text.
Next, learn Adobe InDesign for page layout and Acrobat for PDF review. Illustrator and Photoshop help when you make diagrams or edit images. Knowing these five covers most day-to-day tasks.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports there were about 45,500 employed science writers and related technical writers. The median wage was $90,390 per year. The lowest tenth earned $57,440 and the top tenth $145,270, according to BLS 2025 data.
Pay varies by industry (publishing, biotech, software), location, and experience. Use those BLS numbers as a starting benchmark when negotiating.
Yes, but treat AI as a drafting assistant only. Use it to generate outlines, simplify jargon, or suggest alternative phrasings. Always verify facts, numeric values, and citations against primary sources and SMEs before publishing.
Keep a revision record showing what the AI produced and what you changed. Don’t submit AI-only text for regulated content or SOPs without SME review and explicit approval.
Science writers focus on accurate technical explanation, SOPs, user manuals, and documentation for SMEs or end users. You work with JIRA, Confluence, and Adobe tools and maintain revision histories. Accuracy and reproducibility matter more than clicks.
Journalists prioritize newsworthiness and speed; content marketers prioritize persuasion and conversion. Both may overlap with science writing, but they usually won’t produce the same level of technical detail or formal SOPs.
Learn to translate technical jargon into clear language and organize content logically. Practice outlining complex topics, writing step-by-step procedures (SOPs), and creating clear labels for diagrams.
Also gain basic competence in Confluence and one Adobe layout tool (InDesign or Acrobat). Employers look for evidence you can work with SMEs, track edits in JIRA, and maintain revision records.
Start by creating concrete writing samples: an SOP, a user guide, and a short explainer for a non-expert. Use real tools—draft in Confluence, export to PDF with Acrobat, and include one simple diagram made in Illustrator or PowerPoint.
Volunteer to write for a lab newsletter, internal wiki, or open-source project. On your resume, list tasks you already do that match the role: interviewing SMEs, organizing content, and keeping revision logs. That shows transferable experience.