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Contractor-senior technical writer vs staff writer

The differences between contractor-senior technical 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 contractor-senior technical writer and a staff writer. Additionally, a contractor-senior technical writer has an average salary of $65,744, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.

The top three skills for a contractor-senior technical writer include maintenance procedures, technical manuals and technical documentation. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.

Contractor-senior technical writer vs staff writer overview

Contractor-Senior Technical WriterStaff Writer
Yearly salary$65,744$44,844
Hourly rate$31.61$21.56
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs86,24480,547
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Contractor-senior technical writer vs staff writer salary

Contractor-senior technical writers and staff writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contractor-Senior Technical WriterStaff Writer
Average salary$65,744$44,844
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $88,000Between $29,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-The New York Times Company
Best paying industry-Non Profits

Differences between contractor-senior technical writer and staff writer education

There are a few differences between a contractor-senior technical writer and a staff writer in terms of educational background:

Contractor-Senior Technical WriterStaff Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorEnglishJournalism
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Contractor-senior technical writer vs staff writer demographics

Here are the differences between contractor-senior technical writers' and staff writers' demographics:

Contractor-Senior Technical WriterStaff Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 51.3% Female, 48.7%Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 8.6% White, 72.0% 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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between contractor-senior technical writer and staff writer duties and responsibilities

Contractor-senior technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage writing projects, including HTML documentation conversions.
  • Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
  • Develop API documentation for CTI interface.
  • Convert legacy PageMaker guide into PDF format.
  • Provide structured FrameMaker XML technical support as required for BAE product support programs.
  • Create, with SMEs and VP-level personnel, online help for custom-developed video conference software.
  • Show more

Staff writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage magazine's transition to a new CMS system.
  • Manage website by uploading and scheduling articles, fixing errors, proofreading, optimizing for SEO, and polishing content.
  • Manage arts and entertainment editorial calendar, assign stories to multiple freelancers and plan daily coverage.
  • Assist with copywriting, magazine and advertisement layout.
  • Research, verify facts and edit all contributor submissions.
  • Create unique columns commentating on the social state of hockey and the NHL.
  • Show more

Contractor-senior technical writer vs staff writer skills

Common contractor-senior technical writer skills
  • Maintenance Procedures, 15%
  • Technical Manuals, 8%
  • Technical Documentation, 4%
  • SharePoint, 4%
  • API, 4%
  • Visio, 4%
Common staff writer skills
  • Feature Stories, 9%
  • News Stories, 8%
  • Event Coverage, 7%
  • News Articles, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Photography, 6%

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