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Technical writing consultant vs staff writer

The differences between technical writing consultants and staff 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 staff writer. Additionally, a technical writing consultant has an average salary of $82,383, which is higher than the $44,844 average annual salary of a staff writer.

The top three skills for a technical writing consultant include framemaker, R and user manuals. The most important skills for a staff writer are feature stories, news stories, and event coverage.

Technical writing consultant vs staff writer overview

Technical Writing ConsultantStaff Writer
Yearly salary$82,383$44,844
Hourly rate$39.61$21.56
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs90,10080,547
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4646
Years of experience22

Technical writing consultant vs staff writer salary

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

Technical Writing ConsultantStaff Writer
Average salary$82,383$44,844
Salary rangeBetween $59,000 And $114,000Between $29,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-The New York Times Company
Best paying industry-Non Profits

Differences between technical writing consultant and staff writer education

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

Technical Writing ConsultantStaff Writer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorEnglishJournalism
Most common collegeUniversity of HoustonMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Technical writing consultant vs staff writer demographics

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

Technical Writing ConsultantStaff Writer
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 47.9% Female, 52.1%Male, 49.2% Female, 50.8%
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, 6.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 8.8% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between technical writing consultant and staff 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

Staff writer example responsibilities.

  • Manage magazine's transition to a new CMS system.
  • Manage website by uploading and scheduling articles, fixing errors, proofreading, optimizing for SEO, and polishing content.
  • Manage arts and entertainment editorial calendar, assign stories to multiple freelancers and plan daily coverage.
  • Assist with copywriting, magazine and advertisement layout.
  • Research, verify facts and edit all contributor submissions.
  • Create unique columns commentating on the social state of hockey and the NHL.
  • Show more

Technical writing consultant vs staff writer skills

Common technical writing consultant skills
  • FrameMaker, 8%
  • R, 7%
  • User Manuals, 7%
  • Technical Documentation, 6%
  • Web Site, 5%
  • XML, 5%
Common staff writer skills
  • Feature Stories, 9%
  • News Stories, 8%
  • Event Coverage, 7%
  • News Articles, 7%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Photography, 6%

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