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Lead writer vs senior technical writer

The differences between lead writers and senior 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 lead writer and a senior technical writer. Additionally, a lead writer has an average salary of $96,798, which is higher than the $70,820 average annual salary of a senior technical writer.

The top three skills for a lead writer include web content, content strategy and integrated marketing. The most important skills for a senior technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and API.

Lead writer vs senior technical writer overview

Lead WriterSenior Technical Writer
Yearly salary$96,798$70,820
Hourly rate$46.54$34.05
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs11,36780,897
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Lead writer vs senior technical writer salary

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

Lead WriterSenior Technical Writer
Average salary$96,798$70,820
Salary rangeBetween $62,000 And $150,000Between $54,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-PayPal
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between lead writer and senior technical writer education

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

Lead WriterSenior Technical Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Houston

Lead writer vs senior technical writer demographics

Here are the differences between lead writers' and senior technical writers' demographics:

Lead WriterSenior Technical Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 61.9% Female, 38.1%Male, 51.8% Female, 48.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 8.6% White, 72.0% 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, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between lead writer and senior technical writer duties and responsibilities

Lead writer example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage print and online documentation for Linux and web-base security software.
  • Develop information model for migration to a DITA xml-base content management system and structure authoring tool.
  • Assist in developing training objectives and supporting documentation both for in-person and online delivery using RoboHelp.
  • Spearhead and develop an online documentation system utilizing XML design to replace paper manuals with on the fly documentation generation.
  • Gather and produce news sound clips.
  • Produce national television programming including short news roll-ins, teasers, man-on-the-street and fundraising clips.
  • Show more

Senior technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and participate in logistics programs, and commercial and DOD technical manual complements.
  • Manage team activities for internal and client documentation development that supports the SDLC methodology.
  • Lead team to deliver the first simultaneous release of the product stack across UNIX platforms.
  • Manage multiple SharePoint sites for active documentation projects and resulting archives to meet customer version control and compliance requirements.
  • Identify and initiate wholesale computer upgrade to accommodate new CMS while allocating and managing staff resources devote to developing the software.
  • Design and develop standalone and context-sensitive help with RoboHelp HTML, enhancing application usability.
  • Show more

Lead writer vs senior technical writer skills

Common lead writer skills
  • Web Content, 17%
  • Content Strategy, 9%
  • Integrated Marketing, 8%
  • Video Scripts, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 5%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%
Common senior technical writer skills
  • Technical Documentation, 7%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 6%
  • API, 4%
  • Java, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • XML, 4%

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