How much does a Technical Writer make?

Updated Dec 6, 2023

Experience

Industry

Total Pay Range
$67K - $101K/yr
Base Pay
$63K - $94K/yr
Additional Pay
$3K - $7K/yr

$82K

/yr
$67K$101K
Most Likely Range

The estimated total pay for a Technical Writer is $81,808 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $77,147 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The estimated additional pay is $4,661 per year. Additional pay could include cash bonus, commission, tips, and profit sharing. The "Most Likely Range" represents values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role.

How accurate is this most likely Total Pay range (base + additional) of $67K-$101K/yr?

Total Pay Trajectory

For Technical Writer

$81,808 /yr
Technical Writer
$108,495 /yr
Senior Technical Writer
$106,535 /yr
Lead Technical Writer
See Full Career Path

Download as data table

What is the total pay trajectory for Technical Writer?

Job TitleSalary
Technical Writer$81,808 /yr
Senior Technical Writer$108,495 /yr
Lead Technical Writer$106,535 /yr

Top Paying Companies

For a Technical Writer in United States

Below is the total pay for the top 10 highest paying companies for a Technical Writer in United States. Employers include Google, Tanium and Apple.

1
Google
Google
$169,557/yr
1K open jobs
2
Tanium
$155,042/yr
3
Apple
$151,629/yr
4
Meta
$147,198/yr
9
Yahoo
$131,651/yr
See pay for all companies for a Technical Writer in United StatesView data as table

Top Paying Companies

For Technical Writer in United States

1Google$169,557
2Tanium$155,042
3Apple$151,629
4Meta$147,198
5Cisco Systems$137,572
6VMware$137,125
7Microsoft$134,420
8Splunk$132,073
9Yahoo$131,651
10Salesforce$128,457
Total Pay Trajectory

For Technical Writer

$81,808 /yr
Technical Writer
$108,495 /yr
Senior Technical Writer
$106,535 /yr
Lead Technical Writer
See Full Career Path

Download as data table

What is the total pay trajectory for Technical Writer?

Job TitleSalary
Technical Writer$81,808 /yr
Senior Technical Writer$108,495 /yr
Lead Technical Writer$106,535 /yr

What are total pay estimates for a Technical Writer at different companies?

or
Sort:
Company
Jobs
Total Pay Range
Apple
4.2
Technical WriterSee 173 salaries from all locations

$151,629

 / yr
Google
4.4
Technical WriterSee 129 salaries from all locations

$169,557

 / yr
Wipro
3.1
Technical WriterSee 106 salaries from all locations

$79,246

 / yr
Epic
3.3
Technical WriterSee 84 salaries from all locations

$82,152

 / yr
ServiceNow
4.4
Technical WriterSee 76 salaries from all locations

$104,484

 / yr
Aerotek
3.4
Technical WriterSee 66 salaries from all locations

$67,888

 / yr
Amazon
3.7
Technical WriterSee 65 salaries from all locations

$87,487

 / yr

Is this salary info helpful?

Let’s pay it forward! The Glassdoor community relies on people like you to share accurate salary info to promote fair compensation everywhere

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Amazon
3.7
Technical Writer ISee 59 salaries from all locations

$78,575

 / yr
MathWorks
4.3
Technical WriterSee 55 salaries from all locations

$102,788

 / yr
Cisco Systems
4.4
Technical WriterSee 49 salaries from all locations

$137,572

 / yr
Medtronic
3.9
Technical WriterSee 44 salaries from all locations

$91,652

 / yr
SAIC
4.1
Technical WriterSee 42 salaries from all locations

$78,327

 / yr
TEKsystems
3.8
Technical WriterSee 41 salaries from all locations

$39

 / hr
Wells Fargo
3.6
Technical WriterSee 39 salaries from all locations

$49

 / hr
Lockheed Martin
4.1
Technical WriterSee 38 salaries from all locations

$89,640

 / yr
Oracle
3.8
Technical WriterSee 36 salaries from all locations

$114,275

 / yr
Fiserv
3
Technical WriterSee 35 salaries from all locations

$89,807

 / yr
Microsoft
4.3
Technical WriterSee 33 salaries from all locations

$134,420

 / yr
Insight Global
3.8
Technical WriterSee 33 salaries from all locations

$38

 / hr
Leidos
3.8
Technical WriterSee 31 salaries from all locations

$88,024

 / yr
Download as data table

Technical Writer Salaries

Job TitleSalary
Apple Technical Writer salaries - 173 salaries reported$151,629/yr
Google Technical Writer salaries - 129 salaries reported$169,557/yr
Wipro Technical Writer salaries - 106 salaries reported$79,246/yr
Epic Technical Writer salaries - 84 salaries reported$82,152/yr
ServiceNow Technical Writer salaries - 76 salaries reported$104,484/yr
Aerotek Technical Writer salaries - 66 salaries reported$67,888/yr
Amazon Technical Writer salaries - 65 salaries reported$87,487/yr
Amazon Technical Writer I salaries - 59 salaries reported$78,575/yr
MathWorks Technical Writer salaries - 55 salaries reported$102,788/yr
Cisco Systems Technical Writer salaries - 49 salaries reported$137,572/yr
Medtronic Technical Writer salaries - 44 salaries reported$91,652/yr
SAIC Technical Writer salaries - 42 salaries reported$78,327/yr
TEKsystems Technical Writer salaries - 41 salaries reported$39/hr
Wells Fargo Technical Writer salaries - 39 salaries reported$49/hr
Lockheed Martin Technical Writer salaries - 38 salaries reported$89,640/yr
Oracle Technical Writer salaries - 36 salaries reported$114,275/yr
Fiserv Technical Writer salaries - 35 salaries reported$89,807/yr
Microsoft Technical Writer salaries - 33 salaries reported$134,420/yr
Insight Global Technical Writer salaries - 33 salaries reported$38/hr
Leidos Technical Writer salaries - 31 salaries reported$88,024/yr
Viewing 1 - 20 of 4,800

Top Paying Industries

For a Technical Writer in United States

The top 5 paying industries for a Technical Writer in United States are Financial Services with a median total pay of $99,971, Telecommunications with a median total pay of $91,838, Aerospace & Defense with a median total pay of $88,070, Energy, Mining & Utilities with a median total pay of $87,560, and Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology with a median total pay of $87,257.

IndustryTotal PayTotal Pay Insight
  • Financial ServicesFinancial Services$99,971

    16% Higher than other industries

  • TelecommunicationsTelecommunications$91,838

    9% Higher than other industries

  • Aerospace & DefenseAerospace & Defense$88,070

    5% Higher than other industries

  • Energy, Mining & UtilitiesEnergy, Mining & Utilities$87,560

    4% Higher than other industries

  • Pharmaceutical & BiotechnologyPharmaceutical & Biotechnology$87,257

    4% Higher than other industries

Financial Services

Top paying companies in Financial Services for Technical Writer are Goldman Sachs, American Express, and Citi.

Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs$127,587/yr
American ExpressAmerican Express$112,689/yr
CitiCiti$112,029/yr

Glassdoor Economist Pay Overview

What is the pay outlook for Arts & Design?

Jobs in arts & design are growing due to increased access to remote work. These jobs often require a bachelor’s degree and technical skills such as graphic design software, web-development and research. Salaries vary, as jobs tend to be short-term and contractual, offering workers flexible schedules and the opportunity to manage multiple projects at once.

Recent Salaries Shared

For technical writer

Salary Share
Anonymously share your pay to help the community

Job Title

Location

Total Pay

Base Pay | Additional Pay

Total Years of Experience

Years at Recent Employer

Submitted

Date or Time

Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 1-3 years

$35

/hr

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 1-3 years

$46,750

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 15+ years

$45,000

/yr

Submitted Yesterday

15+ years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 4-6 years

$77,000

/yr

$75K | $2K

Submitted Yesterday

4-6 years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 7-9 years

$88,000

/yr

$87K | $1K

Submitted Yesterday

7-9 years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 1-3 years

$98,000

/yr

$74K | $24K

Submitted Yesterday

1-3 years
Yesterday
Technical Writer

United States of America

 | 10-14 years

$75,300

/yr

$70K | $5K

Submitted Yesterday

10-14 years
Yesterday

Technical Writer pay FAQ

The average salary for a Technical Writer is $81,808 per year in United States. Salaries estimates are based on 9701 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Technical Writer employees in United States.

The highest salary for a Technical Writer in United States is $100,804 per year.

The lowest salary for a Technical Writer in United States is $66,623 per year.

If you are thinking of becoming a Technical Writer or planning the next step in your career, find details about the role, the career path and salary trajectory of a Technical Writer.

Pay for technical writers varies by specialty. Medical writing is one of the highest paid subfields, a trend driven by continuing pharmaceutical innovation. Technical writers with advanced degrees in related fields like public health or scientific communication, as well as those with extensive work experience, are especially desirable candidates. Additionally, a strong writing sample can help an applicant to command especially high pay.

Powered by Glassdoor Economic Research

Technical writers work in a flexible field with lots of room to earn a higher salary. According to ratings from Glassdoor data, about 73% of technical writers say they're satisfied with how much they get paid.

If you work as an entry-level technical writer, you can expect to make around $77,146.97, since the range for this job doesn't change much with experience. Most people in the technical writing field earn about $81,807.51 in total pay, including additional compensation. In fact, some technical writers reach an income of $121,440.91 in the course of their careers.

Earning industry certifications from professional organizations can increase your salary as a technical writer. The Society for Technical Communication offers three levels of accreditation as a Certified Professional Technical Communicator: Foundation, Practitioner, and Expert. If you work in the medical field, one of the fastest growing areas for technical writers, you can get the Medical Writer Certification by passing an exam given by the American Medical Writers Association. Building up a strong portfolio and landing projects from high-profile clients can also help increase your earnings, especially as you expand your skills into new formats and niche areas.

Negotiating a higher technical writer salary can take many forms, depending on whether you'll be a freelance or full-time member of the team. Generally, you should justify your target number by providing information from trustworthy industry sources about how much writers with your level of experience get paid on average. You can also command a higher salary in negotiations if you know the latest software, such as Microsoft SharePoint and Adobe Acrobat. Highlight your continuing education to show the employer your commitment to learning and growing in this role. You can also take on extra projects thanks to the flexibility of technical writer jobs.

Additional Resources

Technical Writer Job Description Template

Salaries

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