Say "screenwriter," and it's probably safe to say that most people would think of someone who writes screenplays for movies. Getting to write movies is a primary motivation for someone wanting to become a screenwriter. Screenwriters can receive training at some kind of university program, which includes film school. However, some screenwriters like Quentin Tarantino did not attend film school. He became an independent filmmaker who wrote the scripts for his own films.
Screenwriters today are employing their talents in a different mediums, and one of the most promising is in the video game industry. Writing for video game scripts presents unique challenges to the classically trained screenwriter--namely that the story is not necessarily told in a linear fashion. There are different levels of the game to contend with, interactive functions, new characters on every level and the confines of the game's programming. However, whatever the constraints of the work may be, video game writers may become the new fantasy and science fiction writers of tomorrow as more stories are told in more than one format.
Writing the news is another job option for a screenwriter. News has changed a lot in the Internet age, and because of this many news outlets hire people who have been cross-trained in a number of disciplines, including writing. The more skill sets the writer has, the better chance of getting hired. The screenwriter is trained in many areas, including script writing, video production and photography. These skill sets are transferable skills not only for writing the news, but also the news on the Web, which requires all of these skills.
Corporations produce videos regularly to train their employees, provide public relations content and sell products. Although writing scripts for corporate videos will not make the average screenwriter famous, it will make him money. Corporate clients tend to pay their screenwriters well, and the work tends to be steady.
Teaching is another job option for the screenwriter. Film schools will hire screenwriters to teach their dramatic writing courses, and while some expect that the writer has an MFA in screen or dramatic writing, some schools do not require it for adjunct positions. However, most screenwriters who aspire to also teach at the university level should count on getting an advanced degree in film writing.