There are no specific degree requirements for a position in technical writing. Many technical writers have writing-related degrees such as English, creative writing or journalism. Others have degrees in fields that employ technical writers such as engineering, chemistry, computer science, aerospace, or biology. Some technical writers have completely unrelated degrees. These writers get into the
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Based on a true story… You are working as a technical writer on a project that has gone horribly and quite predictably wrong. The original sizing for the project was for five technical writers. Your project was given three. One of the three was fired and the other one quit. You are now all that’s
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Most freelancers already know that they need to market themselves. Bloggers usually know this too, although they sometimes focus on their blog as their only marketing tool. Marketing is for all writers though, and in fact for anyone who wants to have a sustainable professional career. A fully employed technical writer or business writer might
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Whether you are a freelance copywriter, a contract technical writer or a full-time reporter, you should be considering the financial sustainability of your career. There are many types of writing careers, and there are issues to be faced in every one of them. Even the safest sounding of careers can have sustainability issues. Much of
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Getting to know a product is one of the keys to documenting that product. You “walk through” the various features and procedures and document them as you go. In some cases this is easy and in other cases it is difficult. Sometimes the product you are documenting does things that are outside of your level
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Subject Matter Experts (SMEs / Smees) are resources who have expertise in the product / subject you are documenting. Many people within a company become SMEs for various reasons. Business analysts, program analysts, engineers and designers are often the people who create the design for a product or request the changes that will be made
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Bullet Points Third-party personnel recruiters work with companies that are searching for one or more employees. Third-party recruiters work on a commission basis, with the commission typically amounting to about 20 to 25 percent of the employee’s first-year salary. Third party recruiters are put in the delicate position of having to reconcile two sets of
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Good technical documentation comes from good information. Finding, understanding and explaining information is the job of the technical writer. There are many methods technical writers use to gather the information they need. This series will cover some of those methods. Attend Meetings Most meetings meander from dull to sleep-inducing with an occasional stop at tense,
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Minimizing occurs when you diminish the value of an accomplishment or skill. This frequently happens to writers who feel that success in an area came too easily or that people are overestimating the amount of work they did or the prestige of the accomplishment. This is a problem that I have dealt with frequently. It
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The Bullet Points Most people don’t start out with the goal of becoming a technical writer Technical writing is one of the best paying writing fields Computer experience is always good for a technical writer’s resume FrameMaker and Robohelp are two key technical writing tools Location matters, living near the jobs helps Persistence will pay
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