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The differences between publishing editors and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a publishing editor, becoming a content writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a publishing editor has an average salary of $61,550, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.
The top three skills for a publishing editor include web site, feature stories and edit content. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.
| Publishing Editor | Content Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $61,550 | $58,918 |
| Hourly rate | $29.59 | $28.33 |
| Growth rate | -5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 4,562 | 19,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
Publishing Editors tend to earn around $56K per year in a career that demands creativity, language, and writing skills, as well as being detail-oriented and possessing good judgment and interpersonal skills. Though not required, most will have at least a bachelor's degree in English, communications, or journalism for this career, which calls for deciding the style and content of various publications or even the entire publication content in managerial roles.
The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.
Publishing editors and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Publishing Editor | Content Writer | |
| Average salary | $61,550 | $58,918 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $85,000 | Between $40,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Cisco |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a publishing editor and a content writer in terms of educational background:
| Publishing Editor | Content Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Journalism | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between publishing editors' and content writers' demographics:
| Publishing Editor | Content Writer | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.9% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 16% |