Madison Anderson

Career Report
April 22, 2019

Career Exploration in Grant Writing

Exploring a career is a critical step in deciding your future. Narrowing the options
is important because there are so many different paths you can take. Selecting a field that
you have interest in or show aptitude in is crucial because you may spend your life in
that chosen career. If you are happy in the work you are doing it will give meaning and
satisfaction to your life. I like to write so I decided to explore grant writing as a career.

Job Description

Grant writing is a specific field that centers on technical writing. Being able to read
grant requests and respond to them is critical. According to D. Read, interpreting the
solicitation is the most important part of a grant writer’s job (personal interview, April 5,
2019). Grant writers also develop documents that reflect a narrative, scope of work and
goals and outcomes (Read, personal interview, April 25, 2019). Working on budgets is
also part of grant writing. Many other qualifications are necessary. A job listing about
grant writers lists critical thinking, meeting deadlines, developing and formatting
documents, and managing stakeholders as desired qualities (Grant Professionals
Association, 2019).
Additionally the American Gran Writer’s Association not only suggests strong writing
skills as necessary, but also being detail oriented, methodical, and thorough (American
Grant Writer's Association, Inc.).

General Career Path

The path to becoming a grant writer is not always direct. D. Read states, that
although she did well in English and writing in college, she didn’t major in either. She
majored in Health Promotion and discovered grants were a big part of the Health field
(personal interview, April 5, 2019). Often, grant writing comes from necessity. Funding
programs and research is the main reason for grants. Certain professions, sciences and
math, may not have writing as a primary need but if those same fields need research
money they can turn to grant writers for help (Porter, 2007).

General Education Experience

Most job listing for grant writers list a bachelor’s degree as a desired level of
education (Grant Professionals Association, 2019). However, some stated that experience
and success with grant writing could substitute for education. Those who hire grant
writers are very interested in how much money you have already won (Read, personal
interview, April 5, 2019).
 Madison Anderson
Career Report
April 22, 2019

Grant writers can be trained by others with experience. There are workshops and
conferences that can be attended to learn or polish skills (American Grant Writer's
Association, Inc.).
Also, some universities have certifications in grant writing, like Notre Dame,
University of Georgia, Temple University and many others.

Average Salary

Grant writer pay is diverse. Salaries on job listing range from $35,000 for beginning
salary to $85,000 for experienced grant writers or grant managers (Grant Professionals
Association, 2019). Some grant writers are independent consultants who are paid per
hour or per grant (Read, personal interview, April 5, 2019).

Career Outlook

Each Year federal and state government agencies and private foundation award
billions of dollars in grants (USA Spending). This indicates that grant writers are needed
to support applications. Job searches produced over five hundred open positions
nationwide from universities, non-profits and local municipalities (Grant Professionals
Association, 2019).

Bio

I interviewed Desari Read, who is a professional grant writer for a company that
specializes in proposal writing and winning government contracts. She has been writing
grants for 9 years and her expertise has assisted small and large companies, universities,
and state government agencies. A sample of some of her success follows:

1. Dixie State University (July 2018), EDA Grant--$1.6 Million

2. UAMMI—America Makes Grant (March 2018)--$1.8 Million
3. Logistics Specialties, Inc. (December 2017), Colorado Pre ETS Grant--$137,000
4. Bridgerland Tech College (December 2017), NSF ATE Grant--$225,000
5. Citadel University (August 2017), NSF STEM-Computing--$2.4 million
6. Cognitech (March 2017), DOD Phase II SBIR--$800,000

Ms. Read holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion with a minor in Nutrition
from Weber State University. She manages grant applications, meets with stakeholders,
leads coalitions, and presents on grant writing and winning strategies.
 Madison Anderson
Career Report
April 22, 2019

Pros/Cons

Grant writing has certain advantages. The salary is good and you can work
independently. You get to know subjects and can work with many different entities.
There are also disadvantages. You can spend a lot of time writing and not win grants.
This could be discouraging. You also have deadlines that could be stressful.

Career Fit

Although learning about grant writing was enjoyable and interesting, I don’t think
it is a fit for me. I like to write creatively, not with pressure and deadlines. Also, I am
working towards a degree in Computer Science and I really enjoy programming.
 Madison Anderson
Career Report
April 22, 2019

Sources

American Grant Writer's Association, Inc. (n.d.). Grant Writing FAQs. Retrieved April
10, 2019, from American Grant Writer's Association:
www.agwa.us/grantwritertraits

Grant Professionals Association. (2019, March 26). Career Center. Retrieved April 11,
2019, from Grant Professional Association: https://grantprofessionals-
jobs.careerwebsite.com/job/grants-manager/47491093

Porter, R. (2007). Why academics have a hard time writing good grant proposals. Journal
of Research Administration , 38, 37-43.

Read, D. (2019, April 5). Grant Specialist. (M. Anderson, Interviewer)

Torpey, E. (2014, September). Career Outlook. Retrieved April 19, 209, from Bureau of
Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2014/youre-a-what/grant-
writer.htm

USA Spending. (n.d.). Spending by Prime Award. Retrieved 22 2019, 2019, from
usaspending.gov:
https://www.usaspending.gov/#/search/afdf026762057c5bb87a477751d2038d