Documentation writer vs staff writer

The differences between documentation 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 documentation writer and a staff writer. Additionally, a documentation writer has an average salary of $69,677, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.

The top three skills for a documentation writer include technical documentation, subject matter experts and sharepoint. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.

Documentation writer vs staff writer overview

	Documentation Writer	Staff Writer
Yearly salary	$69,677	$44,844
Hourly rate	$33.50	$21.56
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	16,019	80,547
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	2

What does a documentation writer do?

A documentation writer helps organizations with documentation tasks for their services/products. These professionals mostly handle factual and highly technical writing for companies like electronics manufacturers, technology corporations, and software companies. Documentation writers produce factual information relating to products in various formats from technical specifications to reference manuals, fact sheets, frequently asked questions, how-to's, and instructions manuals. They can describe complex processes like functions, setup, and installation in clear English. Moreover, these professionals produce the required documents on time and with zero errors.

What does a staff writer do?

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.

Documentation writer vs staff writer salary

Documentation writers and staff writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Documentation Writer	Staff Writer
Average salary	$69,677	$44,844
Salary range	Between $53,000 And $90,000	Between $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 documentation writer and staff writer education

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

	Documentation Writer	Staff Writer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	English	Journalism
Most common college	Northwestern University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Documentation writer vs staff writer demographics

Here are the differences between documentation writers' and staff writers' demographics:

	Documentation Writer	Staff Writer
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7%	Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.2% 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%

Differences between documentation writer and staff writer duties and responsibilities

Documentation writer example responsibilities.

Manage content uploads through SharePoint.
Manage the EDMS system as a super user for the organization.
Manage, and perform administrative QC of electronic clinical submission modules within the Documentum document management system.
Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
Update and QC collateral file inventory.
Analyze technical design documents and work closely with SMEs.

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.

Documentation writer vs staff writer skills

Common documentation writer skills

Technical Documentation, 15%
Subject Matter Experts, 10%
SharePoint, 9%
Software Development, 6%
User Manuals, 6%
GMP, 6%

Common staff writer skills

Feature Stories, 9%
News Stories, 8%
Event Coverage, 7%
News Articles, 7%
SEO, 6%
Photography, 6%

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Documentation Writer
Documentation Writer vs Staff Writer

Updated January 8, 2025

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