On Friday, March 1, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) hosted a panel of professional writers to discuss their careers and trends in their fields and to offer advice to students. The panelists included Heather Kenny, Dan Magers, Rob Mitchum and Chris Cancilla.

After an introduction from Karen Leick, the head of the professional writing program at UIC, Kenny, a freelance writer, began the discussion. Post-college, Kenny worked for the Chicago Reader, which she still considers to be one of the most significant professional experiences she has had. 

“This is where I really learned everything about what it takes to be a good writer–finding reliable sources, how to interview people to get interesting quotes and finding out what you want to know,” Kenny said. “These are skills that I use every single day now in my career.”

Kenny held a handful of other jobs while freelance writing on the side, though she would eventually stick to freelance writing as her career path. Kenny was very clear about the pros and cons of freelancing. She loves working on her own schedule, and pursuing different types of clients and jobs feeds her curiosity. However, health insurance is her biggest expense, and she has, in the past, had to work part-time jobs on the side to make a livable wage.

Majors and Mitchum, on the other hand, both work as technical writers. Majors works for Blackboard, writing user documentation, and Mitchum works at UIC in the research and science communications department. Neither originally saw technical writing as a career goal for themselves. Majors is a published poet and is extremely passionate about his creative writing, which he does on the side. Putting his “delusional, intense commitment to being a creative writer that doesn’t care very much about money” aside, he has actually found technical and creative writing to be very similar. 

“Think of language as a kind of material that you use to make things,” Majors said. “I feel like if you’re a creative writer, you experiment a lot more with language, and you can solve more problems through writing with more facility.”

Mitchum began his education by pursuing science and receiving a Ph.D. in neuroscience while writing record reviews for fun on Pitchfork. Eventually, his interest in science and his hobby of writing merged into a science writing job at the Chicago Tribune. After the newspaper stopped covering science, Mitchum began working for UIC, where his goal as a science writer is to broadcast the success of the research done at the university and its impact.

Cancilla was the last speaker on the panel. He is a marketing and brand specialist who has recently transitioned to teaching at the college level. Through advertising and marketing classes, Cancilla saw an outlet for storytelling and being creative. Some of the things Cancilla loves about marketing are having to put yourself into the mindset of different people, playing a role in shaping culture and using marketing campaigns to talk about things that have a bigger implication for the world.

Aside from their personal careers, the panelists also focused on the growing concern around AI in writing-based fields. Cancilla believes that it is the people who can adapt to new technologies and lean into them who will be successful. He cited advertisements recently done by McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway that used ChatGPT responses. 

“AI won’t generate those ideas. Humans generate ideas,” Cancilla said.

All of the panelists emphasized the importance of networking, having mentors, and LinkedIn. They all had, at some point, gotten a job because of a professional connection’s referral, with Cancilla even landing a job with the Obama Foundation this way. Mentors can be extremely helpful for breaking into the professional world and offering advice, but they can also act as cheerleaders. At some point, almost all writers will face imposter syndrome, and sometimes the only help you need is for someone to say they believe in you. 

“Attach like a leech onto a mentor,” Cancilla laughed.