Are you looking into a career as a medical writer? These professionals play a crucial role in translating complex scientific and clinical data into clear, accurate and engaging content tailored for various audiences. In this guide we’ll go over: 

What is a medical writer? 

A medical writer works alongside other medical professionals, scientists and stakeholders during clinical trials and projects. They produce both physical and online documentation that communicates scientific and clinical information to different audiences. What medical writers produce is typically educational, promotional or informational.  

In the world of life sciences, medical writers are also key players within medical communications. In medical communications departments, they’ll often collaborate with project managers, media relations specialists, supervisors, editors, healthcare journalists and more to create publications to promote medical products and services. 

Medical writer daily roles and responsibilities 

Medical writers across different organisations will have some responsibilities that vary, but on the whole, most share similar everyday roles and responsibilities.  

Generally, they write a range of clinical documents throughout the entire lifecycle of a clinical trial or project, ensuring that it is clear, accurate and of high-quality. Depending on the type of organisation and their role, medical writers may sometimes be required to help with document quality checking, looking at data accuracy, formatting and language, and compliance to industry guidelines.  

During their career, they will work on a range of documentation, including: 

Types of employers 

Whether you freelance or have a permanent role, you have the opportunity to work for a wide range of organisations, including but not limited to: 

What qualifications do you need to become a medical writer? 

Those looking to become a medical writer should try to complete relevant qualifications, such as getting an undergraduate, master’s, or in some cases, a doctoral degree. The qualifications necessary to become a medical writer depend on the country you live in and the types of organisations you wish to apply to. Make sure to research what qualifications you need before applying for roles. Generally, it’s good practice to have an undergraduate degree in one of the following subjects: 

Additionally, you may take a course offered by medical writer associations such as the and the . Some organisations may also offer internships or fellowships in medical writing to help you get the necessary experience.  

Read our guide on how to become a medical writer for insights, tips and recommended steps to take to get into the role.  

Average medical writer salaries 

Many medical writers typically enjoy a comfortable salary, with the option to increase this further through career progression opportunities. Although salaries vary between different countries and regions, it’s best to see what to expect before pursuing a career in medical writing. 

Medical writer salaries in the UK 

In the UK, junior medical writers usually start on a salary of . As they progress to becoming senior medical writers, they can expect to earn between while senior directors of medical writing can earn an average of .  

Medical writer salaries in the US 

In the US, the average salaries are usually higher than in other countries. Entry level medical writers usually earn an average of . From here, with the relevant experience, they can progress to senior medical writers, usually earning up to and if they work towards becoming senior directors of medical writing, this results in their average salary becoming .  

Medical writer salaries in Europe 

In Europe, junior medical writers can expect to earn an average of €55,000 per year, meanwhile medical writing managers can earn up to around €68,000 per year. Salaries for senior directors of medical writing across the continent are €186,000 per year on average.  

Medical writer salaries in Australia 

In Australia, the average salary for a junior medical writer is around . This is compared to senior medical writers, with gaining the right experience, can earn up to .  

Medical writer career progression  

The career paths available for medical writers all depend on the specialism they pursue, their interests, the type of organisation they work for and the country they work in. For example, in the US, the typical medical writer career progression route may look like this: 

- Medical writer – Senior medical writer – Director of medical writing 

It’s worth noting that senior medical writers in director positions may also oversee other departments alongside medical writing, such as health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) or biometrics. Medical writers who wish to move into managerial positions generally do so after approximately five years of experience in the profession. 

Please see the following case studies of different medical writer career paths:  

Candidate A - Pharma/biotech 

Candidate A has a PhD in molecular biology. They started working within the medical writing team of a small pharmaceutical company and enjoyed a lot of flexibility, spending an equal amount of time working from home and at the office. Candidate A has now become a head of medical writer, where they are responsible for managing a team of permanent and contract medical writers. 

Candidate B – CRO 

Candidate B has a background of post-doctoral research in oncology and worked for a leading contract research organisation (CRO) for a number of years. Candidate B benefitted from the varied work and the opportunity to collaborate with lots of different pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing innovate oncology drugs and biologics. They are now working in a more senior medical writer role working at a start-up oncology biotech. 

Candidate C – Agency 

Candidate C holds a life science bachelor’s degree and was interested in applying their scientific knowledge to a medical communications medical writer job. They began working for a medical writing agency in a junior medical writer role and, after a few years, built up a varied bank of experience producing educational and promotional content for various life science companies. They are now a fully-fledged medical writer working for a small pharmaceutical company.   

Candidate D – Contracting 

Candidate D is a PhD educated medical writer with over twenty years’ experience working in the pharmaceutical industry. Having accumulated strong experience authoring and compiling regulatory documentation spanning the entire drug life cycle, candidate D chose to use their expertise to become a contract medical writer. Freelance medical writer jobs afforded this candidate greater flexibility, a wider choice of projects and higher rates of pay.