Careers in Technical Writing
by Allan Hoffman

Summary

• You won't be churning out American classics.
• You might be called a writer, but that's only part of the job.
• The pay and the job outlook are good.

To some people, any job with the word "writer" in the title looks like it must be a blast -- the next best thing to working on episodes of "The Practice." So you've seen the title technical writer in your job search, and it has whet your appetite to learn more. Here's a guide to the profession.

Is Technical Writing for You?

"If your goal is to write a novel, this is not the job," says Saul Carliner, a former president of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), an organization for technical writers and editors. "Although the finished product is something you wrote, there's a lot of collaboration. 

You're interviewing people. You're coordinating. Twenty to 30 percent of your time is writing."

Contrary to what many people assume, work as a technical writer involves much more than sitting alone at your PC. The job requires plenty of contact with technical professionals -- from programmers to project managers -- to write and design documentation for software. Solitary? Not quite.  Collaborative? Most definitely.

If you're considering work as a technical writer, one way to learn if it's the job for you is to spend several hours reading and reviewing computer manuals and online help systems, like those for your operating system and assorted applications. Ask yourself a simple question, Carliner suggests: "Is writing this what I want to do for a living?" Also remember that most technical documentation is used by companies for internal purposes. No one outside the company will ever see it.

As a group, technical writers have varied backgrounds. According to an STC membership study, the five academic backgrounds most common among technical communicators are English, technical communication, science or engineering, computer science and journalism. Anyone with a technical background will have an easier time breaking into the industry, as that shows a facility with technical topics and the ability to work with industry professionals.

Unlike other areas of technology, technical communication -- a broad term encompassing technical writing, editing and design -- does not have a widely recognized certification. Consider taking courses in the following topics to build a foundation:

• Technical writing: Typically offered at colleges and community colleges, as a way to gain an overview of the field and develop writing samples.

• Web design: A way to gain an understanding of design and presentation issues.

• A programming course: To help you gain a better understanding of how software is created.

You should know Microsoft Word, if you don't already, and you'll be better off if you have some level of expertise with FrameMaker and RoboHelp, two programs often used for writing technical documentation.

According to STC's year 2000 salary survey, technical writers and editors earned an average of $51,850. The typical entry-level worker earned $37,050, while senior-level professionals in supervisory roles earned $64,610.

"It's a great way to get into an organization and then move into a different job," says Carliner, who is assistant professor of information design at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Technical communicators often move into jobs as programmers, systems analysts, information architects and project leaders. Others move into sales or management roles. Whatever your goal, the more technical know-how you acquire, the better off you'll be. Throughout the information technology world, a premium is paid for people who have superior communication skills and can also hold their own with diehard techies.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for technical writers is expected to increase with the expansion of scientific and technical information and the need to communicate it to others. In other words, as long as new technologies are being developed, there will be demand for people to explain it to them in writing. That said, the future is bright for this profession.