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The differences between senior technical trainers 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 technical trainer and a technical writer. Additionally, a senior technical trainer has an average salary of $95,726, which is higher than the $65,329 average annual salary of a technical writer.
The top three skills for a senior technical trainer include training materials, course content and powerpoint. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.
| Senior Technical Trainer | Technical Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $95,726 | $65,329 |
| Hourly rate | $46.02 | $31.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 89,246 | 75,090 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior technical trainer develops and conducts technical training programs. Their responsibilities include performing research and analysis, establishing guidelines and schedules, preparing and arranging activities, creating training materials such as manuals and systems, providing handouts, and facilitating discussions. They conduct training in a variety of tasks such as installations, repairs, upgrades, and maintenance of systems. Moreover, as a senior technical trainer, it is essential to lead and serve as a role model to junior technical trainers, all while promoting the company's policies and regulations.
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 technical trainers and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Technical Trainer | Technical Writer | |
| Average salary | $95,726 | $65,329 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $129,000 | Between $48,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Arizona | California |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior technical trainer and a technical writer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Technical Trainer | Technical Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | English |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Houston |
Here are the differences between senior technical trainers' and technical writers' demographics:
| Senior Technical Trainer | Technical Writer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.3% 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% |