Author: Harini Sethuraman
“Uh Technical Writer? What does that mean? What do you actually do?”
If you have had this thrown at you several times now and it makes you sigh inwardly and smile the exasperated smile of someone tired of explaining, I completely empathize with you. If, you are someone who wonders what technical writing is, you are at the right place. I am going to try and explain the ‘who/what/how’ of technical writing
Someone finally created a Wikipedia entry for a Technical Writer and no, I am not going to quote it, because, if you browsed to get here, you know how to get to Wikipedia and look it up there.
As apparent, a technical writer is someone who deals with technical documentation – designs/creates/updates documentation like user manuals, online help, design specifications, white papers, courseware, product brochures, Application Program Interface (API) documentation, articles, project proposals, technical reports, web pages, multimedia presentations, parts lists, assembly instructions, and sales promotion materials etc.
This is neither a comprehensive nor exhaustive list of what a technical writer creates. What a writer may be involved in creating depends on the writer’s profile, and the profile of the organization that employs their services.
A technical writer may or may not be technically qualified – but it is essential that he/ she have an analytical bent of mind, an ability to question why things are the way they are and express complex ideas in a lucid manner. The term Technical Writer is an umbrella term that represents a community of people referred to by one or more of these job titles: Technical Communicator, Technical Documentation Specialists, Technical Author, Knowledge Author, or Information Developer.
Why Technical Writing?
We find ourselves neck deep in the Internet era where technology in different forms is invading our lives. It should come as no surprise then, that careers in technology are the most sought after and highly paid. Advancing technology brings with it a technical complexity, which might not be intellectually accessible to an average individual, who is compelled to use technology for everyday tasks. This is where a technical writer steps in. The writer gathers information from technology experts and communicates it to users in an easily understandable form. It follows that technical writers are in great demand, to bridge the divide between a technology major and its consumer.
Getting Started As a Technical Writer
A background in Science/ Technology and Engineering are nice to have but not necessary to make a mark in this field. But a research oriented and inquiring nature, a love for the written word and superior English language skills are mandatory for a technical writer.
Other qualities required to succeed as a technical writer are project management abilities, good interpersonal communications, patience, a thirst for knowledge and perseverance to churn out large quantities of writing. Knowledge of tools such as MS Word is a necessity for writers.
Until a couple of years back, there were no formalized courses in technical writing in India; today a number of government and private bodies are offering certificates and degrees in technical writing:
- Documentation Research and Training Center, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore
- IISc Proficiency Continuing Education Program, IISc Bangalore
- Technopoint, Bangalore
- Technowrites, Pune
- SA International, Chennai
- IIT Delhi
- Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Pune
For most Science/ Technology and Engineering majors, experience in the field, and impressive work samples compensate for the lack of formalized training.
For rookies, who are testing this as a career option, the best way to get started is to work for small independent writing firms, which hire and train individuals based on language skills and basic technical aptitude.
Resources for Technical Writers
This sub-section is relevant to those writers, who have sizable experience in technical writing:
- Remember to revisit the basics: The Chicago Manual of Style, The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications and other organization specific style and formatting guidelines used by most writers to produce consistent, print documentation.
- Books:
- The Elements of Style- William Strunk Jr.
- Eats, Shoots & Leaves- Lynne Truss
- Science and English Basics: Wannabe professional technical writers can take English courses to improve their writing skills or Science courses to enhance their technical knowledge. Both English and Science courses are available on all UOP Campuses
- Websites/ Communities:
- Society for Technical Communication
- Technical Communicator’s Glossary
- Articles on trends in technical writing
- EServer Technical Communication (and Technical Writing) Library
- Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators, The professional body for UK Technical Authors
- KeyContent.org
- The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
- Resources on technical writing
- Tools Knowledge:
- Publishing Tools: FrameMaker, MS Word, Interleaf, ArborText, PageMaker, Quark Express
- Graphic Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, Corel Draw, Paintshop Pro
- Help Tools: RoboHelp, Doc-to-Help, ForeHelp
- Web Tools: FrontPage, Cold Fusion, Dreamweaver, HomeSite, BBEdit, Arachnophilia
Career Path of a Technical Writer
A technical writer’s career ladder has few levels. A technical writer could grow into a Senior Technical Writer handling more complex projects or a small team. The next step up could be a Documentation Manager handling multiple projects and teams. Technical writers, who gain domain expertise, often work as Quality Associates or Business Analysts.
Tips to make it big as a Technical Writer
- Make an effort to work in various areas of technical writing – Courseware, Instructional Design, Product Development – User Manuals, Online Help, API Documentation, Sales and Marketing – Proposals, Brochures etc
- Network with fellow technical writers in writing communities- share best practices and be mindful of current industry trends
- Network with the other side – the SME. Subject matter experts are knowledge powerhouses in their domain. Interacting with them, not only increases your own knowledge, but also makes your work technically sound.
- Attempt to work as an Individual contributor and as part of a larger documentation team – you can gain on project management experiences and peer feedback respectively.
- Define your career goal and align your career moves in the appropriate direction. .
Companies that employ Technical Writers
Technical writers are highly employable as their skills can be generic, specific and malleable. Depending on their educational background and skill sets, Technical writers are sought out by a large stratum of firms/ organizations in India:
- Telecommunication majors
- Software Development firms
- Software Solutions and Services organizations
- Hardware manufacturing firms
- Website/Graphic Design firms
- Content management firms
- Networking & security majors
- Online gaming firms
- Data warehousing companies
- Biotechnology firms
- Research bodies
- Tech Magazines
How much do technical writers get paid?
The following has been sourced from a Society of Technical Communication survey conducted in 2007:
This is a fairly accurate indication of current industry trends
About the Author
Harini is an Information Developer with a little over 6 years of technical writing behind her. She believes that she and others of her ilk do a good bit to make applications more intuitive and technology more approachable.
Please Note: Chillibreeze does not endorse techniques or views mentioned in the articles here. The articles listed here are provided as reference material for writers as a support service.
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Hi,
I am 37 yrs old, had done diploma in Computer Technology in 1994 and working in one Engineering College, Pune (Maharashtra- India) as Laboratory Assistant in Mechanical Engineering Dept since 1995.
I want to redesign my career as at this stage i am not excel in Computer as well as in Mechanical. I came to know about this course, which is fulfilling the initial requirement of this course such as academic background of techical, MS-word, English language and so on.
Can you give me the sugession in this regard because at this stage i am confused and wanna know the job opportunities for the woman like me.
Thank you.
With regards.
Kavitta
Hi Kavita
To explore job opportunities you can check out our Jobs section where we advertise jobs for writers and editors
http://chillibreeze.in/uncategorized/writing-and-editing-jobs
To redesign your career pleas etale a look at the online courses we offer
http://chillibreeze.com/writing-courses-and-tests/online-courses/index.asp
I have been writing some technical articles especially related to computers. I want to improve this business and i dream of working with chillibreeze. But, i am not aware of the legal side. What are the laws applicable for outsourcing technical writing? Is it possible to export writing services, or sell articles and earn money through the net. What are the taxes, duties etc. payable by the writer. What are the licences, registration etc. required to be obtained. I am really confused!