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Technical writer lead vs senior technical writer

The differences between technical writer leads and senior 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 technical writer lead and a senior technical writer. Additionally, a senior technical writer has an average salary of $70,820, which is higher than the $66,624 average annual salary of a technical writer lead.

The top three skills for a technical writer lead include technical documentation, subject matter experts and maintenance procedures. The most important skills for a senior technical writer are technical documentation, subject matter experts, and API.

Technical writer lead vs senior technical writer overview

Technical Writer LeadSenior Technical Writer
Yearly salary$66,624$70,820
Hourly rate$32.03$34.05
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs75,69780,897
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Technical writer lead vs senior technical writer salary

Technical writer leads and senior technical writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technical Writer LeadSenior Technical Writer
Average salary$66,624$70,820
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $85,000Between $54,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-PayPal
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between technical writer lead and senior technical writer education

There are a few differences between a technical writer lead and a senior technical writer in terms of educational background:

Technical Writer LeadSenior Technical Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonUniversity of Houston

Technical writer lead vs senior technical writer demographics

Here are the differences between technical writer leads' and senior technical writers' demographics:

Technical Writer LeadSenior Technical Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 53.5% Female, 46.5%Male, 51.8% Female, 48.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between technical writer lead and senior technical writer duties and responsibilities

Technical writer lead example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate meetings, write and edit documentation, maintain SharePoint database, manage high-visibility special projects in a fast-pace environment.
  • Design graphics and illustrations for product documentation and training materials (CorelDraw and Visio).
  • Model include XML, HTML, and style sheet templates, guidelines, and training sessions.
  • Collaborate with SMEs to understand technical specifications.
  • Design an HTML instructional help system for a secure-encryption network product.
  • Process documents though the BCCR process for FDA regulations and legal requirements.
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Senior technical writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and participate in logistics programs, and commercial and DOD technical manual complements.
  • Manage team activities for internal and client documentation development that supports the SDLC methodology.
  • Lead team to deliver the first simultaneous release of the product stack across UNIX platforms.
  • Manage multiple SharePoint sites for active documentation projects and resulting archives to meet customer version control and compliance requirements.
  • Identify and initiate wholesale computer upgrade to accommodate new CMS while allocating and managing staff resources devote to developing the software.
  • Design and develop standalone and context-sensitive help with RoboHelp HTML, enhancing application usability.
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Technical writer lead vs senior technical writer skills

Common technical writer lead skills
  • Technical Documentation, 8%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 7%
  • Maintenance Procedures, 6%
  • Status Reports, 6%
  • Engineering Drawings, 5%
  • User Guides, 4%
Common senior technical writer skills
  • Technical Documentation, 7%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 6%
  • API, 4%
  • Java, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • XML, 4%

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