Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior medical writers 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 medical writer and a technical writer. Additionally, a senior medical writer has an average salary of $99,453, which is higher than the $65,329 average annual salary of a technical 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 technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.
| Senior Medical Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $99,453 | $65,329 |
| Hourly rate | $47.81 | $31.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 59,478 | 75,090 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
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 medical writers and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Average salary | $99,453 | $65,329 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $157,000 | Between $48,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Biogen | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior medical writer and a technical writer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Nursing | English |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Houston |
Here are the differences between senior medical writers' and technical writers' demographics:
| Senior Medical Writer | Technical Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.9% Female, 62.1% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 11% | 11% |