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Director vs writer

The differences between directors and writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a director, becoming a writer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a director has an average salary of $113,489, which is higher than the $66,143 average annual salary of a writer.

The top three skills for a director include healthcare, customer service and oversight. The most important skills for a writer are work ethic, customer service, and web content.

Director vs writer overview

DirectorWriter
Yearly salary$113,489$66,143
Hourly rate$54.56$31.80
Growth rate8%4%
Number of jobs230,71113,931
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4042
Years of experience64

What does a director do?

Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.

What does a writer do?

A writer can have different responsibilities depending on which industry or line of work they are involved. There are writers assigned in a corporate setting, some in journalism, while there are also writers in the entertainment Industry. Although they focus on varying types of writing, they all function to inform. Among the typical duties of writers involve producing content within allotted time or deadline, gather information and verify to ensure accuracy, proofread, and undergo review and revisions.

Director vs writer salary

Directors and writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

DirectorWriter
Average salary$113,489$66,143
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $192,000Between $40,000 And $107,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkMassachusetts
Best paying companyMayo ClinicApple
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between director and writer education

There are a few differences between a director and a writer in terms of educational background:

DirectorWriter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorBusinessEnglish
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Director vs writer demographics

Here are the differences between directors' and writers' demographics:

DirectorWriter
Average age4042
Gender ratioMale, 53.2% Female, 46.8%Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage14%16%

Differences between director and writer duties and responsibilities

Director example responsibilities.

  • Manage water metering programs for NYC and national portfolio.
  • Collaborate with the CPA to manage financials and reporting / distribution to physicians.
  • Manage OEM manufacturing partners for making bulk solutions, product fills and final packaging.
  • Lead company's first deep-fill structural project, bring company into EPA compliance, establish effective QA-QC program.
  • Develop company website entirely as well as wrote and manage the SEO and upkeep for overall site maintenance.
  • Manage the company's hotel portfolio operations and assets, including renovation, new build, conversions, and rebranding.
  • Show more

Writer example responsibilities.

  • Operate AP NEWSCENTER/ENPS and manage CNN feed services.
  • Manage the Instagram account, which mean publishing and keeping up to date with the articles.
  • Manage projects diligently under aggressive deadlines while maintaining editorial integrity and ensuring stories have entertainment and/or educational value.
  • Participate in roundtable discussions offering hot takes and opinions on NBA and NFL teams, players, and coaches.
  • Train all staff on using the CMS.
  • Place stories into CS3 InDesign pages.
  • Show more

Director vs writer skills

Common director skills
  • Healthcare, 10%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Human Resources, 4%
  • Business Development, 4%
Common writer skills
  • Work Ethic, 18%
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Web Content, 8%
  • Math, 7%
  • SEO, 5%
  • SQL, 3%

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