If You Need To Read One Article About Technical Writing, Read This [A Beginners Handbook]

by MukeshJuly 08, 20200 Comments
technical-writing-things-to-know




In this age of AI and Machine Learning should you consider technical writing as a great career option? 

What if there is an AI developed tomorrow which can develop technical writing from scratch?

Well, to answer your question, AI and ML might be trending but the idea of bots creating documentation from scratch is not. Neither it is possible for an AI to develop good quality documentation which is dynamic in multiple prospects.

I agree that these recent technological advancements can provide significant aid for creating documentation but manual intervention is always needed as there are various dynamic variables when it comes to creating documentation.

I wrote this article to provide in-depth insights and ongoing trends in the field of technical writing. I believe, after reading this article you can surely make some informed decisions on your career choice.



Introduction

So, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear technical writing?

Back then when I started technical writing as a career, I had no idea that technical writing is so vast and has plentiful opportunities.

You can just think of any product regardless of the domains. It can be any product in various domains such as aeronautical, software, robotics, engineering, electrical, etc. You name it. You won’t be much surprised to discover that all the products must have documentation.

As a technical writer, you get the chance to get to know the technology up-close and get into the crux of the product. Furthermore, you will get to choose your expertise from multiple domains makes the technical writing field very lucrative.

I am assuming the readers of this article is to be a person who is not into technical writing or has just started in the field. 

Read till the last to get a detailed overview of the technical writing career. Don’t worry experienced writers, you can also find good information as you read through.
_____________________________


What is technical writing?

what-is-technical-writing


Technical Writing is a profession that involves writing complex and good technical product information into simpler terms with supporting graphics or other visuals.

The professionals are called technical writers.

Technical writers are the user advocates who create and publish documentation in various comprehensive forms. These documents are made with the intention such as solve a query, provide conceptual information about a product, perform a setup, troubleshoot, and many more.

_____________________________

What are the different types of writings?

The write-ups created by the technical writer are different from that of any other author.

To understand this you must know what are the different types of writings that are created and who creates it. The following are the types of writers:
  1. Who writes a novel (Literary writer)
  2. Who writes business articles such as a company annual report (Business writer)
  3. Who writes content-based articles such as blogs (Content writer)
  4. Who is involved in technical report writing such as a thesis and academic writing (Thesis/academic writer)
  5. Who writes news reports (Journalist)

Did you know?

Technical Writing forms the largest sub-field in Technical Communication.

_____________________________


What are the skills required for technical writing?

technical-writer-skill

If you are a person who is starting your career in technical writing, it is expected that you must possess good communication skills and a thorough knowledge of English grammar.

For experienced writers, you must have a basic understanding of your domain along with communication and grammar skills.

So, for example, if you are experienced or trying to get into the telecommunication domain, you should know how the internet works, what is a router, about smartphones, etc.

The various skills of a technical writer include the following:

  1. Ability to visualize the content.
  2. Grab the product knowledge in every minute detail.
  3. Design the structure style and content.
  4. Ability to categorize and arrange the content topics/sections to build a good TOC.
  5. Knowledge of standards such as DITA, S100D, MSTP, STE, etc.
  6. Basic understanding of XML and HTML (Tags, elements, and attributes).
  7. Knowledge of Content Management Systems.
  8. Illustration and graphic design (Bonus skill)
  9. Effective communication which is very essential to gather and for communicating information from the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
  10. Problem-solving and analytical mind.

A technical writer uses different tools to write the content. They also need to abide by the standards for writing the document. These standards, tools, and writing styles vary from domain to domain.

However, the basic idea is to determine your audience before writing and also write in simple and easy to understand terminologies.

A technical writer generally approaches several language structures, keeping a provision of translating to extend the content to other languages.

Also read: What You Need to Know About ISO Schematron as a Technical Writer

_____________________


Technical Writing Interviews

technical-writing-interview

In your interviews, you will be evaluated based on the following grammar skills via written examination such as:

  • Prepositions,
  • Subject-verb agreement,
  • Active and passive voice.
  • Documenting from a conceptual input

 Also, Article writing and Procedure writing is also included in the written examination.

It is expected you should have the basic domain knowledge pertaining to the domain you are applying to. For example, if you apply for a software company, you should have some level of knowledge on the Software Development Life Cycle, AGILE methodology, JIRA, etc.

Absolutely no prior coding knowledge is required for the technical writer (Basic XML knowledge which is required to form XML content can be learned on the go). However, no one is going to scold you if you tell I know JavaScript or Python. 

DITA and XML knowledge are required if you are more than one year of experience in most of the domains in the technical writing field. Not required if you are just starting.

You should expect scenario-based questions in your interviews which are the most common interview questions to check your attitude and eagerness to learn.

_____________________________


What are the domains in technical writing?

technical-writing-domain

There are various domains in which you as a technical writer can work. Each domain is unique in its own way. 

Each domain offers something different to learn and consequently cater to your career growth. Some of the widely chosen domains and the respective company for the technical writer are as follows:

  • Aeronautical (Collins Aerospace)
  • Oil and gas (ExxonMobil)
  • Telecommunication (Nokia)
  • Heavy engineering (Vestas)
  • Robotics (Systemantics)
  • Finance (JPMorgan Chase)
  • Healthcare (NEXTGEN Healthcare)
  • Electrical (Schneider Electric)
  • Software (Qualcomm).

Also read: Honest Technical Writing Job Reviews by the Employees of Various Companies

_____________________________


What are the roles/responsibilities of a technical writer?

technical-writing-job-description-roles

As a Technical writer your job will include the list of following roles and responsibilities:

  1. You will play a vital role in ensuring that products are clearly described in the documentation and that’s accurate and useful.

  2. You are expected to work with Subject Matter Experts (SME) and customer feedback to continually improve usability and quality of documentation.

  3. You need to successfully execute projects from concept to publication under deadlines while coordinating input from numerous sources.

  4. You must think critically and see gaps in documentation. Show initiative and good judgment in developing solutions.

As you grow through your career, you will have the added responsibilities of project and resource management by becoming a manager or a Subject Matter Expert.


technical-writing-DDLC-infographic

Consider this infographic above that explains the Document Development Life Cycle (DDLC) which is a standard practice followed by the writers to create documentation.

_____________________________


What are the various tools used by a technical writer?

The tools used by a technical writer can be categorized into their functional area as follows:
  1. Authoring tools: Write the actual content, in text, XML, and Markdown, etc. formats.
  2. Illustration tools: Create supporting graphics, flow charts, UI mockups, etc.
  3. Content Management tools: Manage, maintain, and publish the contents with ease.
  4. Web application tools: Utility applications that help to meet various project-specific needs.

authoring-tool


The above infographics give a comparison between the trending authoring tools that are being used by the technical writer nowadays.



_____________________________


What is the scope of a technical writing career in 2020?

technical-writing-career-scope

The projected percent change in employment is huge as compared to other professions since 2016.  

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be expected growth of the job up to 11%. This number is huge because in the coming year’s new products will be created and so the documentation. So there is no saturation which I can think of in the near future.

Also, this is a type of job which can not be automated to 100% accuracy. Manual interventions will always be required to achieve a good quality of documentation.

Moving forward with your experience, you should always try to build your expertise in a domain or field. In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing industry, being special is not more competent enough. You need to be hyper-special. It’s best to be a master in some, rather than being a jack of all trades.

_____________________________


What is the Salary of Technical Writers?

As a technical writer, you can earn a decent salary based on the domain which you are working for. 

The Software and Finance industry is known for its handsome pay in this profession.

The following table below shows the pay in India in Lakhs per Annum (LPA).

 

technical-writer-salary

Outside India, the pay is estimated to be around $70,000 per annum approximately.

Know more: We Researched the Salary of a Technical Writer. Here is What We Found

_____________________________


What are the eligibility and qualification required to become a technical writer?

technical-writing-qualification

There is no special qualification or certification is required to become a technical writer. However, a graduation degree is a must like any other job in the market.

Some organizations also give preference to a degree in the English language or certification.

I have come across many persons working as a technical writer in various domains who have their graduation or diploma in a totally different field.

There are numerous online courses available now in technical writing. You can certainly enroll in some and get a good idea of this field before starting your career or to further polish your skills.

_____________________________


Online courses, Seminars, communities to follow for Technical Writing

To get better in your profession it's very much essential to constantly keep yourself updated, improve your skills, and writing styles.

There are multiple online paid courses in Udemy, Coursera are available. You can also find free courses.

You should also closely follow STC. They conduct good Seminars (Webinars) and are quite reputed in this niche.

_____________________________


Why should you pursue technical writing?

So, everything boils down to this question.

If you have a thirst to understand conceptual information and jot them down in form of documents that are very easy to understand for the readers/users, then technical writing can become a very rewarding career for you.

You should have a passion for living amongst the latest technologies and working with the market trendsetters in terms of innovations. 

If you are very good in English grammar and effective communication, you can really make a difference and climb the ladder of delegation in this field.

_____________________________

 

Conclusion

The technical writing career is a widely chosen profession all over the globe. There is a rapid increase in jobs in this field.

This profession offers decent pay and allows you to know the latest or upcoming technologies up close.

Sometimes, the job can become very challenging, and yet it is very satisfying to realize that it’s your effort which ends up helping somebody in some way or the other.

Thanks for your time and for reading this through.

What are your thoughts about a technical writing career? Will you choose or recommend this profession?

Let me know in the comments below.

Share this article if you have liked reading it.

Cheers 🍻

0 Comments