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The differences between scientific writers and content 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 writer and a content writer. Additionally, a scientific writer has an average salary of $99,550, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.
The top three skills for a scientific writer include IND, NDA and abstracts. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.
| Scientific Writer | Content Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $99,550 | $58,918 |
| Hourly rate | $47.86 | $28.33 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 15,960 | 19,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Scientific writers are professionals who are responsible for conducting research and writing articles that are related to scientific topics for many different kinds of publications and scientific journals. These writers are required to conduct interviews with scientists and other important people to ensure accurate information about the essays they are writing. They must adapt and comply with in-house style guides as well as perform copy-editing and proofreading duties. Scientific writers must also build up a network of contacts with other professionals in the industry such as press officers, PR executives, and researchers.
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.
Scientific writers and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Scientific Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average salary | $99,550 | $58,918 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $150,000 | Between $40,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, VA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Cisco |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a scientific writer and a content writer in terms of educational background:
| Scientific Writer | Content Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Biology | English |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between scientific writers' and content writers' demographics:
| Scientific Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 8.6% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 11% | 16% |