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Technical writing consultant vs contract writer

The differences between technical writing consultants and contract 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 writing consultant and a contract writer. Additionally, a contract writer has an average salary of $91,260, which is higher than the $82,383 average annual salary of a technical writing consultant.

The top three skills for a technical writing consultant include framemaker, R and user manuals. The most important skills for a contract writer are web content, SEO, and press releases.

Technical writing consultant vs contract writer overview

Technical Writing ConsultantContract Writer
Yearly salary$82,383$91,260
Hourly rate$39.61$43.88
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs90,10023,671
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4642
Years of experience22

Technical writing consultant vs contract writer salary

Technical writing consultants and contract writers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technical Writing ConsultantContract Writer
Average salary$82,383$91,260
Salary rangeBetween $59,000 And $114,000Between $61,000 And $136,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between technical writing consultant and contract writer education

There are a few differences between a technical writing consultant and a contract writer in terms of educational background:

Technical Writing ConsultantContract Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonUniversity of Houston

Technical writing consultant vs contract writer demographics

Here are the differences between technical writing consultants' and contract writers' demographics:

Technical Writing ConsultantContract Writer
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 47.9% Female, 52.1%Male, 38.5% Female, 61.5%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%16%

Differences between technical writing consultant and contract writer duties and responsibilities

Technical writing consultant example responsibilities.

  • Identify and initiate wholesale computer upgrade to accommodate new CMS while allocating and managing staff resources devote to developing the software.
  • Perform QA testing of the GUI, returning valuable feedback to the design team via the TestTrack defect tracking system.
  • Create accompanying diagrams using Visio.
  • Develop and design business processes utilizing Visio and other tools.
  • Define data interchange requirements, and develop API references and data management requirements in support of telecommunication company acquisition and mergers.
  • Develop sophisticated PowerPoint presentations for cross-departmental meetings.
  • Show more

Contract writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Manage the proposal lifecycle, including RFP analysis, regular communications, proposal development and production consistent with branding strategies.
  • Interview subject matter experts and process source data to write biographies and profiles.
  • Post social media and hospital promotional/patient testimonial YouTube videos.

Technical writing consultant vs contract writer skills

Common technical writing consultant skills
  • FrameMaker, 8%
  • R, 7%
  • User Manuals, 7%
  • Technical Documentation, 6%
  • Web Site, 5%
  • XML, 5%
Common contract writer skills
  • Web Content, 15%
  • SEO, 12%
  • Press Releases, 12%
  • Blog Posts, 12%
  • Website Copy, 4%
  • Copywriting, 4%

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