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The differences between writers and content writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a writer, becoming a content writer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a writer has an average salary of $66,143, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.
The top three skills for a writer include work ethic, customer service and web content. The most important skills for a content writer are digital marketing, wordpress, and web content.
| Writer | Content Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $66,143 | $58,918 |
| Hourly rate | $31.80 | $28.33 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 13,931 | 19,621 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A writer can have different responsibilities depending on which industry or line of work they are involved. There are writers assigned in a corporate setting, some in journalism, while there are also writers in the entertainment Industry. Although they focus on varying types of writing, they all function to inform. Among the typical duties of writers involve producing content within allotted time or deadline, gather information and verify to ensure accuracy, proofread, and undergo review and revisions.
The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.
Writers and content writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average salary | $66,143 | $58,918 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $107,000 | Between $40,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Cisco |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a writer and a content writer in terms of educational background:
| Writer | Content Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | English | English |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between writers' and content writers' demographics:
| Writer | Content Writer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |