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The differences between editorial directors and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an editorial director, becoming a content writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an editorial director has an average salary of $99,934, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.
The top three skills for an editorial director include editorial content, web content and editorial strategy. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.
| Editorial Director | Content Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $99,934 | $58,918 |
| Hourly rate | $48.05 | $28.33 |
| Growth rate | -5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 11,143 | 19,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
An Editorial Director will plan, coordinate, and edit all written content for a publication or a website. As the Editorial Director, they are responsible for planning the company's vision for the publication, including its short- and long-term goals. They are also responsible for supervising other editors and developing the guidelines on the types of manuscripts they should seek. Other duties that Editorial Directors perform include planning the publication's contents, allocating work to editors-in-chief and editorial managers, and coordinating other departments' work as needed.
The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.
Editorial directors and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Editorial Director | Content Writer | |
| Average salary | $99,934 | $58,918 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $144,000 | Between $40,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | New Haven, CT | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Cisco |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between an editorial director and a content writer in terms of educational background:
| Editorial Director | Content Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | English | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between editorial directors' and content writers' demographics:
| Editorial Director | Content Writer | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.2% White, 76.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 16% |