💡 Why it matters: Streaming services and film studios need fresh scripts, and every film or series starts with one. Many writers start with short projects, and pay is uneven until you build a name.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Streaming services and Nollywood studios need fresh scripts, and pay is uneven until you build a name.
- United States: Jobs for writers and authors are projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦500k – ₦2M
- Mid-career
- ₦2M – ₦8M
- Senior
- ₦8M – ₦30M
≈ ₦167k – ₦667k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Writers and authors. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Job Bank occupation: Script and dialogue writer. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Invent characters, settings and plots
- Write scripts with dialogue and scene directions
- Rewrite after notes from producers and directors
- Pitch story ideas to studios
- Research real places, jobs and cultures for accuracy
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Imagination
- Writing
- Handling feedback
- Discipline
- Research
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Take a screenwriting workshop and write short scripts for competitions
- Join a writers' room as an assistant on a series
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Write short scripts and enter competitions
- Start as a runner or script assistant in TV or film
- No set route: producers hire on the strength of your scripts
🇺🇸 United States
- Write short scripts and enter contests
- Start as a writers' assistant or script reader
- Join a writers' room
🇨🇦 Canada
- Write short scripts and enter contests
- Start as a script assistant or in a writers' room
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Read scripts and write short stories
- 2Learn script format with free software
- 3Write several short film scripts
- 4Submit to festivals, labs and competitions
- 5Get hired on a series or sell a feature script
⏰ A day in the life
You spend the morning writing a tense family scene, reading the lines aloud to check they sound real. After lunch you join a call with a producer who wants changes to the ending.