What is the difference between a technical writer and a copy writer?

Question

What are the skill sets required for each position?

Answer 1

They actually are quite similar. Both will require some sort of degree in English, creative writing, journalism, or something like that.

Technical writers usually are employed to write things like manuals on how to use technical products. Lots of large companies (i.e. Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Nikon, etc) that build technology products hire technical writers to produce things like the configuration guides, the set-up manuals, the repair manuals, etc. Technical writers usually have some sort of English or writing degree, plus they have had some training on the products that they are writing about, or they may have technical certificates such as a CCNA if they are writing about Cisco networking or a Microsoft Certification if they are writing about Microsoft products. They frequently need to be able to understand high-level engineering concepts and they need to be able to turn "Engineering-speak" into "user-speak".

Copy writers can also be technical writers (just like technical writers can be copy writers) ,but lots of times they'll work on things like advertising brochures, commercials, news print, magazine articles, etc. where they may not necessarily have to have a technical understanding of what they are writing about, but they know how to put the correct wording together or how to get the most impact out of the words that are used. They usually will work on broader types of projects than Technical writers will.

Answer 2

A technical writer would write users manuals for programs or other forms of technology. A copy writer, on the other hand, writes the copy for advertisements whether it be the text on a print ad, the script used for a radio or tv- they write it!