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The differences between business writers and staff writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a business writer and a staff writer. Additionally, a business writer has an average salary of $77,963, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.
The top three skills for a business writer include market research, business development and proofreading. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.
| Business Writer | Staff Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $77,963 | $44,844 |
| Hourly rate | $37.48 | $21.56 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 60,190 | 80,547 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Business writers draft proposals and plans for a company, reports on the stock market, financing, and other economic happenings for publication. They write reports about remodeling projects and contribute to annual financial reports. In any case, they explain facts about the business to audiences who need background information to understand the proposal, plan, or report in a better light. It is important that business writers research their topics to better understand what they are working on. After their research, they organize the materials they gathered and use words to present the information to their readers.
A staff writer is an individual who works in the television (TV) or entertainment industry to provide standard content such as news reports, reviews, and features. Since writing content is important, staff writers must be able to collaborate and brainstorm ideas with other staff members in the production process. They must attend conferences, events, or seminars to meet other people in the industry. Staff writers must also possess knowledge in scriptwriting and an in-depth understanding of the entertainment industry.
Business writers and staff writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Writer | Staff Writer | |
| Average salary | $77,963 | $44,844 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $109,000 | Between $29,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Amazon | The New York Times Company |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a business writer and a staff writer in terms of educational background:
| Business Writer | Staff Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Most common major | Journalism | Journalism |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between business writers' and staff writers' demographics:
| Business Writer | Staff Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.1% Female, 50.9% | Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |