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The differences between senior documentation specialists 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 senior documentation specialist and a technical writer. Additionally, a technical writer has an average salary of $65,329, which is higher than the $45,943 average annual salary of a senior documentation specialist.
The top three skills for a senior documentation specialist include data entry, federal regulations and sharepoint. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.
| Senior Documentation Specialist | Technical Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $45,943 | $65,329 |
| Hourly rate | $22.09 | $31.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 8,436 | 75,090 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior documentation specialist has the responsibility of leading a team of documentation specialists. They are responsible for the distribution of the documentations their team has written. They oversee new storage systems and optimize the efficiency of existing systems. Ultimately, they preserve documents for their company.
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.
Senior documentation specialists and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Documentation Specialist | Technical Writer | |
| Average salary | $45,943 | $65,329 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $90,000 | Between $48,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior documentation specialist and a technical writer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Documentation Specialist | Technical Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Houston |
Here are the differences between senior documentation specialists' and technical writers' demographics:
| Senior Documentation Specialist | Technical Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 11% | 11% |