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Freelance medical writer vs technical writer

The differences between freelance medical writers and technical 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 freelance medical writer and a technical writer. Additionally, a freelance medical writer has an average salary of $96,709, which is higher than the $65,329 average annual salary of a technical writer.

The top three skills for a freelance medical writer include literature reviews, medical communications and medical writing. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.

Freelance medical writer vs technical writer overview

Freelance Medical WriterTechnical Writer
Yearly salary$96,709$65,329
Hourly rate$46.49$31.41
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs59,67275,090
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Freelance medical writer vs technical writer salary

Freelance medical writers and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Freelance Medical WriterTechnical Writer
Average salary$96,709$65,329
Salary rangeBetween $65,000 And $142,000Between $48,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between freelance medical writer and technical writer education

There are a few differences between a freelance medical writer and a technical writer in terms of educational background:

Freelance Medical WriterTechnical Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBiologyEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Houston

Freelance medical writer vs technical writer demographics

Here are the differences between freelance medical writers' and technical writers' demographics:

Freelance Medical WriterTechnical Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 28.5% Female, 71.5%Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between freelance medical writer and technical writer duties and responsibilities

Freelance medical writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage, and assist in the recruiting activities of, CRO resources preparing regulatory documents on behalf of APGD.
  • Create content relate to recent FDA approvals and current medical research.
  • Organize and consolidate information into standard report formats, preparing and proofreading correspondence and documents in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
  • Fda-Regulate environment (CFR regulations).

Technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Analyze the requirements of the RFP to understand the customer s solution needs and to identify potential discriminators for competitive advantage.
  • Manage consulting projects including UNIX installation and maintenance on various engineering workstation platforms.
  • Create and manage print and online documentation for Linux and web-base security software.
  • Manage security program for DoD classify magnetic media, classify documents and physical security systems.
  • Develop software requirements documents for proprietary medical software device; manage documents through SDLC in fda-regulate environment.
  • Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
  • Show more

Freelance medical writer vs technical writer skills

Common freelance medical writer skills
  • Literature Reviews, 17%
  • Medical Communications, 8%
  • Medical Writing, 7%
  • Proofread, 7%
  • Literature Searches, 6%
  • Scientific Content, 5%
Common technical writer skills
  • Technical Documentation, 9%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 8%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Visio, 4%
  • SharePoint, 4%
  • Test Procedures, 4%

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