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Senior technical editor vs copy editor

The differences between senior technical editors and copy editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior technical editor and a copy editor. Additionally, a copy editor has an average salary of $62,599, which is higher than the $60,374 average annual salary of a senior technical editor.

The top three skills for a senior technical editor include technical documentation, technical editing and subject matter experts. The most important skills for a copy editor are proofreading, house style, and digital publishing.

Senior technical editor vs copy editor overview

Senior Technical EditorCopy Editor
Yearly salary$60,374$62,599
Hourly rate$29.03$30.10
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs72,1434,866
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Senior technical editor vs copy editor salary

Senior technical editors and copy editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Technical EditorCopy Editor
Average salary$60,374$62,599
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $81,000Between $39,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-PayPal
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between senior technical editor and copy editor education

There are a few differences between a senior technical editor and a copy editor in terms of educational background:

Senior Technical EditorCopy Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Senior technical editor vs copy editor demographics

Here are the differences between senior technical editors' and copy editors' demographics:

Senior Technical EditorCopy Editor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 44.8% Female, 55.2%Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between senior technical editor and copy editor duties and responsibilities

Senior technical editor example responsibilities.

  • Identify and initiate wholesale computer upgrade to accommodate new CMS while allocating and managing staff resources devote to developing the software.
  • Create, maintain, and post documents to the Internet in HTML, SHTML, Wiki, and XML formats.
  • Maintain the release notes on the web, using HTML to provide ongoing/daily updates.
  • Assess XML authoring tools in preparation for migrating FrameMaker documents to a modular, reusable, structure authoring environment.
  • Translate DOD issuances into JTF capm issuances.
  • Train writers on principles of indexing (with FrameMaker and IXgen).
  • Show more

Copy editor example responsibilities.

  • Manage copy editing and proofreading responsibilities of weekly business newspaper and special supplements.
  • Collaborate with managing editor and editor-in-chief to develop and post news coverage and multimedia projects.
  • Supervise editorial services and manage workload for multiple complex projects offering professional development training for educators via online and classroom delivery.
  • Compile NHL, NBA, NFL, golf and college roundups, and laid out the scoreboard page.
  • Call upon to produce special pages for NHL and NBA previews.
  • Serve as lead copy editor for NASCAR, college football, college basketball and NFL sections.
  • Show more

Senior technical editor vs copy editor skills

Common senior technical editor skills
  • Technical Documentation, 8%
  • Technical Editing, 7%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 7%
  • Proofread, 6%
  • Proofreading, 5%
  • SharePoint, 5%
Common copy editor skills
  • Proofreading, 12%
  • House Style, 8%
  • Digital Publishing, 6%
  • Fact Check, 6%
  • SEO, 5%
  • Web Content, 5%

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