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Senior medical writer vs contributing writer

The differences between senior medical writers and contributing 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 medical writer and a contributing writer. Additionally, a senior medical writer has an average salary of $99,453, which is higher than the $51,372 average annual salary of a contributing writer.

The top three skills for a senior medical writer include medical writing, clinical data and clinical study reports. The most important skills for a contributing writer are lifestyle, web content, and SEO.

Senior medical writer vs contributing writer overview

Senior Medical WriterContributing Writer
Yearly salary$99,453$51,372
Hourly rate$47.81$24.70
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs59,47810,292
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

What does a senior medical writer do?

A Senior Medical Writer is responsible for writing comprehensive medical texts and composition for various audiences according to required themes and subjects. Senior Medical Writers maintain the accuracy and authenticity of all information by coordinating with medical professionals and other related parties to gather data. They also study recent trends and innovations within the medical industry and share findings with the clients for further study. A Senior Medical Writer must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in training junior writers and setting recommendations for high-quality publications.

What does a contributing writer do?

A contributing writer is responsible for contributing content to a publication or a specific client, typically on a freelance basis. Contributing writers must have a strong command of their language and extensive understanding of the topics assigned to them. They should be keen on details, perfecting grammar usage with proper writing elements. A contributing writer performs in-depth research to support content, ensuring the accuracy of information to release a high-quality article and serve a good read for the target audience. Contributing writers must have excellent time-management and communication skills, especially on meeting deadlines and doing revisions.

Senior medical writer vs contributing writer salary

Senior medical writers and contributing writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Medical WriterContributing Writer
Average salary$99,453$51,372
Salary rangeBetween $62,000 And $157,000Between $34,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySanta Rosa, CA-
Highest paying stateCalifornia-
Best paying companyBiogen-
Best paying industry--

Differences between senior medical writer and contributing writer education

There are a few differences between a senior medical writer and a contributing writer in terms of educational background:

Senior Medical WriterContributing Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common majorNursingJournalism
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior medical writer vs contributing writer demographics

Here are the differences between senior medical writers' and contributing writers' demographics:

Senior Medical WriterContributing Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 37.9% Female, 62.1%Male, 44.6% Female, 55.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 8.6% White, 72.1% 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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between senior medical writer and contributing writer duties and responsibilities

Senior medical writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the contractor for the eCTD compilation and submission.
  • Prepare CSRs and manage the writing of CSRs by contract writers.
  • Manage the quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) review and response processes for these documents.
  • Create and maintain account profiles for contributors, including writing of biographies, gathering headshots, and creating and managing accounts.
  • Work within the confines of a regulate document management system, prepare documents in eCTD format under GCP and ICH guidelines.
  • Develop a strong knowledge of (GxP, ICH) regulatory guidelines.
  • Show more

Contributing writer example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with overseas team and manage documents using SharePoint to conceptualize and generate new marketing content.
  • Pitch, write and photograph audience-aligned content, which are centered on the European-American luxury lifestyle in the greater Chicago area
  • Create SharePoint site for marketing and communications that include project tracking, document governance and collaboration space.

Senior medical writer vs contributing writer skills

Common senior medical writer skills
  • Medical Writing, 10%
  • Clinical Data, 7%
  • Clinical Study Reports, 6%
  • Clinical Research, 5%
  • FDA, 5%
  • Patients, 5%
Common contributing writer skills
  • Lifestyle, 13%
  • Web Content, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Feature Stories, 6%
  • Conduct Interviews, 5%
  • Blog Posts, 5%

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