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The differences between investigative reporters 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 an investigative reporter and a staff writer. Additionally, an investigative reporter has an average salary of $65,230, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.
The top three skills for an investigative reporter include investigative journalism, investigative stories and facebook. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.
| Investigative Reporter | Staff Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $65,230 | $44,844 |
| Hourly rate | $31.36 | $21.56 |
| Growth rate | -10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 10,813 | 80,547 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An investigative reporter is a journalist who performs extensive research and analysis to build facts and current events into news stories. To make this possible, they must pursue leads relating to their subject, conduct interviews with witnesses or the people involved, travel to different places to gather pieces of evidence and other source materials, take videos or photographs, and coordinate with experts such as lawyers and doctors when necessary. Moreover, an investigative reporter must keep up with the latest trends in establishing news structures and news writing.
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.
Investigative reporters and staff writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investigative Reporter | Staff Writer | |
| Average salary | $65,230 | $44,844 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $104,000 | Between $29,000 And $68,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | HSBC Bank | The New York Times Company |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between an investigative reporter and a staff writer in terms of educational background:
| Investigative Reporter | Staff Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Most common major | Journalism | Journalism |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between investigative reporters' and staff writers' demographics:
| Investigative Reporter | Staff Writer | |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% | Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 10% | 11% |