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The differences between technical illustrators and technical writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a technical illustrator, becoming a technical writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a technical writer has an average salary of $65,329, which is higher than the $52,828 average annual salary of a technical illustrator.
The top three skills for a technical illustrator include adobe illustrator, engineering drawings and technical illustrations. The most important skills for a technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and powerpoint.
| Technical Illustrator | Technical Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $52,828 | $65,329 |
| Hourly rate | $25.40 | $31.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 69,932 | 75,090 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Technical illustrators create drawings or illustrations for various technical documentation through digital technology. Aside from being familiar with IT and design software, they have strong creativity and imaginative skills to provide illustrations that express an idea or concept. Also, they are excellent in drawing, painting, sketching, and photography. To become an effective technical illustrator, one must obtain a bachelor's degree related to graphic design and illustration since the job involves creating a diagram that depicts how a certain machine works visually.
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.
Technical illustrators and technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Illustrator | Technical Writer | |
| Average salary | $52,828 | $65,329 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | 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 technical illustrator and a technical writer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Illustrator | Technical Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | English |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Houston |
Here are the differences between technical illustrators' and technical writers' demographics:
| Technical Illustrator | Technical Writer | |
| Average age | 40 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |