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Medical technical writer vs contract writer

The differences between medical technical writers and contract 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 medical technical writer and a contract writer. Additionally, a contract writer has an average salary of $91,260, which is higher than the $74,619 average annual salary of a medical technical writer.

The top three skills for a medical technical writer include medical writing, FDA and informed consent. The most important skills for a contract writer are web content, SEO, and press releases.

Medical technical writer vs contract writer overview

Medical Technical WriterContract Writer
Yearly salary$74,619$91,260
Hourly rate$35.87$43.88
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs123,78123,671
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4642
Years of experience22

Medical technical writer vs contract writer salary

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

Medical Technical WriterContract Writer
Average salary$74,619$91,260
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $104,000Between $61,000 And $136,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between medical technical writer and contract writer education

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

Medical Technical WriterContract Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonUniversity of Houston

Medical technical writer vs contract writer demographics

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

Medical Technical WriterContract Writer
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 35.4% Female, 64.6%Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%16%

Differences between medical technical writer and contract writer duties and responsibilities

Medical technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
  • Create deliverables, and track changes and revision histories in compliance with FDA mandate procedures.
  • Include research, and obtaining information from interviews and PowerPoint presentations.
  • Develop complete design document/storyboard in PowerPoint with suitable animation and audio script.
  • Work on quality assurance software for use in manufacturing and regulatory reporting for FDA regulate cardiovascular products.
  • Perform editing, proofreading, and quality control functions to produce technical training documents and presentations according to specify deadlines.
  • Show more

Contract writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Interview subject matter experts and process source data to write biographies and profiles.
  • Post social media and hospital promotional/patient testimonial YouTube videos.

Medical technical writer vs contract writer skills

Common medical technical writer skills
  • Medical Writing, 16%
  • FDA, 13%
  • Informed Consent, 10%
  • Adobe Acrobat, 9%
  • Clinical Study Reports, 9%
  • Medical Devices, 8%
Common contract writer skills
  • Web Content, 15%
  • SEO, 12%
  • Press Releases, 12%
  • Blog Posts, 12%
  • Website Copy, 4%
  • Copywriting, 4%

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