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The differences between news 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 news writer and a technical writer. Additionally, a technical writer has an average salary of $65,329, which is higher than the $45,129 average annual salary of a news writer.
The top three skills for a news writer include news articles, ABC and SEO. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.
| News Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $45,129 | $65,329 |
| Hourly rate | $21.70 | $31.41 |
| Growth rate | -10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 17,010 | 75,090 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A news writer is primarily responsible for producing informative written materials about current events, ensuring quality and accuracy. Their responsibilities typically revolve around conducting interviews, traveling to different locations, pursuing leads, researching public records, and submitting stories within the expected deadline and set format. Typically working for newspapers or web news platforms, a news writer must also review materials to fact-check and correct any errors, monitor the progress of events or cases, and coordinate with other staff.
Technical Writers specialize in producing easy-to-understand instructional or informational written materials, such as media and journal articles, assessments and guidelines, and legal forms of documentation. For Technical Writers to develop well-versed content, one must conduct thorough research on the topic or idea to ensure factual legitimacy and communicate with those whose expertise aligns with the subject. Aside from producing, Technical Writers can also improve or convert complex written materials such as operating manuals or documents into one that can be easily understood by the general public.
News writers and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| News Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Average salary | $45,129 | $65,329 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $64,000 | Between $48,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | PitchBook Data | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a news writer and a technical writer in terms of educational background:
| News Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Houston |
Here are the differences between news writers' and technical writers' demographics:
| News Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 Percentage | 10% | 11% |