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The differences between technical writers and senior editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a technical writer, becoming a senior editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior editor has an average salary of $90,094, which is higher than the $65,329 average annual salary of a technical writer.
The top three skills for a technical writer include technical documentation, subject matter experts and powerpoint. The most important skills for a senior editor are edit content, video content, and SEO.
| Technical Writer | Senior Editor | |
| Yearly salary | $65,329 | $90,094 |
| Hourly rate | $31.41 | $43.31 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 75,090 | 12,150 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
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.
A Senior Editor determines the editorial content for a publication. They supervise the content creation process and manage junior editors.
Technical writers and senior editors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Writer | Senior Editor | |
| Average salary | $65,329 | $90,094 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $87,000 | Between $66,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a technical writer and a senior editor in terms of educational background:
| Technical Writer | Senior Editor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | English | English |
| Most common college | University of Houston | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between technical writers' and senior editors' demographics:
| Technical Writer | Senior Editor | |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% | Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.2% White, 76.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |