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Medical technical writer vs staff writer

The differences between medical technical writers 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 a medical technical writer and a staff writer. Additionally, a medical technical writer has an average salary of $74,619, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.

The top three skills for a medical technical writer include medical writing, FDA and informed consent. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.

Medical technical writer vs staff writer overview

Medical Technical WriterStaff Writer
Yearly salary$74,619$44,844
Hourly rate$35.87$21.56
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs123,78180,547
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Medical technical writer vs staff writer salary

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

Medical Technical WriterStaff Writer
Average salary$74,619$44,844
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $104,000Between $29,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-The New York Times Company
Best paying industry-Non Profits

Differences between medical technical writer and staff writer education

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

Medical Technical WriterStaff Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorEnglishJournalism
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Medical technical writer vs staff writer demographics

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

Medical Technical WriterStaff Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 35.4% Female, 64.6%Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
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, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between medical technical writer and staff 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

Staff writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage magazine's transition to a new CMS system.
  • Manage website by uploading and scheduling articles, fixing errors, proofreading, optimizing for SEO, and polishing content.
  • Manage arts and entertainment editorial calendar, assign stories to multiple freelancers and plan daily coverage.
  • Assist with copywriting, magazine and advertisement layout.
  • Research, verify facts and edit all contributor submissions.
  • Create unique columns commentating on the social state of hockey and the NHL.
  • Show more

Medical technical writer vs staff 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 staff writer skills
  • Feature Stories, 9%
  • News Stories, 8%
  • Event Coverage, 7%
  • News Articles, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Photography, 6%

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