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Scientific technical writer vs medical writer

The differences between scientific technical writers and medical 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 scientific technical writer and a medical writer. Additionally, a medical writer has an average salary of $93,842, which is higher than the $78,877 average annual salary of a scientific technical writer.

The top three skills for a scientific technical writer include sops, subject matter experts and FDA. The most important skills for a medical writer are medical writing, patients, and clinical research.

Scientific technical writer vs medical writer overview

Scientific Technical WriterMedical Writer
Yearly salary$78,877$93,842
Hourly rate$37.92$45.12
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs79,68059,516
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Scientific technical writer vs medical writer salary

Scientific technical writers and medical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Scientific Technical WriterMedical Writer
Average salary$78,877$93,842
Salary rangeBetween $57,000 And $109,000Between $63,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Virginia
Best paying company-Biogen
Best paying industry--

Differences between scientific technical writer and medical writer education

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

Scientific Technical WriterMedical Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorBiologyBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California

Scientific technical writer vs medical writer demographics

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

Scientific Technical WriterMedical Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 35.4% Female, 64.6%Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.2% 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 scientific technical writer and medical writer duties and responsibilities

Scientific technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
  • Maintain contacts within the FDA and EPA to stay abreast of the latest regulatory actions.
  • Develop sophisticated PowerPoint presentations for cross-departmental meetings.
  • Develop sophisticated PowerPoint presentations for cross-departmental meetings.

Medical writer example responsibilities.

  • Develop network of science contacts at NASA to inform stories and generate new leads.
  • Manage, and assist in the recruiting activities of, CRO resources preparing regulatory documents on behalf of APGD.
  • Create and maintain account profiles for contributors, including writing of biographies, gathering headshots, and creating and managing accounts.
  • Create manuscripts, abstracts, and PowerPoint slide decks for a prominent pharmaceutical client.
  • Prepare CSRs, IB updates, protocols, protocol amendments, and statistical analysis plans.
  • Draft scientific content for abstracts, posters, manuscripts, and slide presentations (CNS )
  • Show more

Scientific technical writer vs medical writer skills

Common scientific technical writer skills
  • Sops, 26%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 20%
  • FDA, 14%
  • Technical Reports, 9%
  • ISO, 6%
  • Adobe Acrobat, 6%
Common medical writer skills
  • Medical Writing, 11%
  • Patients, 8%
  • Clinical Research, 6%
  • Clinical Study Reports, 6%
  • Literature Searches, 5%
  • FDA, 5%

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