Post job

Ghost writer vs technical writer

The differences between ghost 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 ghost writer and a technical writer. Additionally, a technical writer has an average salary of $65,329, which is higher than the $62,531 average annual salary of a ghost writer.

The top three skills for a ghost writer include blog posts, web content and SEO. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.

Ghost writer vs technical writer overview

Ghost WriterTechnical Writer
Yearly salary$62,531$65,329
Hourly rate$30.06$31.41
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs10,19275,090
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Ghost writer vs technical writer salary

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

Ghost WriterTechnical Writer
Average salary$62,531$65,329
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $98,000Between $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 ghost writer and technical writer education

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

Ghost WriterTechnical Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Houston

Ghost writer vs technical writer demographics

Here are the differences between ghost writers' and technical writers' demographics:

Ghost WriterTechnical Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 33.6% Female, 66.4%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, 71.3% 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 ghost writer and technical writer duties and responsibilities

Ghost writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage a team of RFP writers and work with a cross-functional team to meet RFP requirements and establish deadlines.
  • Rewrite author's manuscript into a twenty-plus chapter, fact-base fiction novel.
  • Research and draft return on investment (ROI) kitchen and basement remodeling articles utilizing SEO best practices.
  • Work closely with developers to integrate UI standards into the application and to build intuitive navigation and functionality.
  • Coordinate efforts between web developers, SharePoint site administrators and product support representatives to build and support an active online community.

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

Ghost writer vs technical writer skills

Common ghost writer skills
  • Blog Posts, 18%
  • Web Content, 16%
  • SEO, 14%
  • Fiction, 9%
  • Ghost Writing, 9%
  • Press Releases, 6%
Common technical writer skills
  • Technical Documentation, 9%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 8%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Visio, 4%
  • SharePoint, 4%
  • Test Procedures, 4%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs