On the road to professional writing, there is a crack in the sidewalk that is often stepped over. This crack is known to those close to me as “the overlooked writer,” and as someone who has been filling this professional role for four years – they’re right. Deep in the wells of “becoming a writer” is the hidden opportunity that is technical writing.
“What is technical writing?”
This is a question I hear often on holidays and family get-togethers when I begin to divulge what it is I do for work. Technical writing, or tech writing, involves taking information provided by subject matter experts (SMEs) and using their knowledge to create easy-to-read documentation for future reference and training use depending on the target audience. If you’ve ever wondered who writes those instruction manuals on how to put together a desk from IKEA, or who provides electricians with pocket-size guides while they’re on a 30-foot pole, or who gives lab workers the information on how to prepare a site for new machinery – here we are.
Where my journey began
In my junior year of college, I was scouring job apps and websites for internship opportunities. At this time, I was a double major with one concentration in journalism. I knew this wasn’t the most lucrative profession to pursue, but found such joy in writing, editing, and storytelling that it didn’t matter. However, all internships in journalism were either unpaid or hours away in a bustling city I had no access to. That’s when I found it: Technical Writing Intern, part-time, near you. I landed the position and never looked back.
I was lucky to find that journalism and tech writing weren’t very different. They both share the tasks of editing copy for spelling errors, formatting issues, and content inaccuracies. However, the aspect of tech writing that relies on SMEs from various industries directly parallels what I loved about interviewing resources for articles and picking the most useful information from those meetings. While I used to interview professors about departmental tension, or peers about trends in the student body, I then found myself meeting with engineers to learn about machines and their processes, or project managers to identify goals for their existing documentation. After graduation, I started working for my company full time. With them, I had – and still have – the chance to write for multiple professions.
Tips for starting and maintaining a technical writing career
Starting and maintaining a tech writing career can occur in a million different ways. My journey is just one example of someone stumbling upon a line of work that they never knew about but became enamored with enough to stick to it. Some people go to school specifically for tech writing or take online courses to keep Microsoft Office and Adobe skills current. Some people are proficient in more complex coding platforms and work extensively with HTML, XML, and more. There is no right way to be a tech writer, but here are some tips that I’ve picked up along the ride so far:
1. Be prepared for technology to advance past your current proficiencies.
Coming into the field, I had basic understandings of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but not much else. Over the course of my internship, which lasted a year before I became a full-time employee, I learned more in depth about the use of styles and paragraph settings in Word, formulas in Excel, and animation in PowerPoint. I also began working with applications such as Adobe Acrobat Pro, which helped me to edit PDFs and create fillable documents.
The biggest learning curve was XMetaL, which is now called oXygen. This is an XML platform that has three authoring modes: one for lite coding, one for working with hierarchies of coded tabs, and one for writing with the option of showing those tabs and paragraph marks. I worked extensively in XML for three years, but at least one and a half before I felt comfortable and competent in it.
At my company, I work parallel to other tech writers who have never used oXygen, but instead use other authoring platforms such as XMLSpy, Adobe FrameMaker, Madcap Flare, Eulicidat, Articulate Storyline 360, and more. With tech writing, the platforms seem to be endless, but the spirit is the same: keep up with tech, and tech will keep up with you. LinkedIn has many courses on different levels of coding, and YouTube has proven to be a wealth of information – if you use it correctly.
2. Maintain respectful and open communication with SMEs, and understand their capacity to help.
SMEs are the most important resource for a tech writer actively working on a project. If there is a software update, you’ll need to document it, and the SME will be the only one to explain the details of what means what. Not all tech writers have STEM degrees, but even the ones that do should rely on the developers or regular users of different systems, items, and platforms to tell all.
With that in mind, SMEs such as engineers tend to have limited time to talk with us, and even more limited time to clarify information or review documents. It’s important to keep in mind that their time is valuable, so come to meetings prepared to ask questions and actively listen. Empathy is a powerful tool that is instinctual but can be built upon in the workplace and beyond. Plus, if your SMEs feel heard and their hard work is validated, there’s a great chance that working with them will be even smoother moving forward.
3. Stay hungry for new opportunities!
As technology evolves and the need for tech writing changes, it’s important to always stay on the prowl for new information. This means looking for that new course, reading up on that new method, and listening to that podcast about the future of tech. Staying hungry for opportunities means researching the enemy of writers everywhere – AI – and finding ways to show off your unique, human skills every chance you get. It’s easy to lose drive for the “thrill of the chase,” but remember that this silent job has an expansive impact, and also happens to be the third-highest paid form of writing, according to Indeed. In some major cities, the average yearly base salary for a technical writer can be higher than $80,000, according to Payscale.
Put it into practice
Money aside, the true beauty of being a technical writer is the opportunity to find your niche and let yourself blossom. Keeping an open mind and being willing to learn new things will take you a long way, especially with software updates and debuts flying at us faster than we can catch them. However, at the core of it, tech writing is about identifying, clarifying, and disseminating information in a way that keeps SMEs and general document audiences informed and safe. Whether that means making sure a parent knows a toy could be a choking hazard, a homeowner knows how to use their new kitchen appliance, or a doctor knows how to analyze a specimen to give their patients accurate and life-saving medical attention, technical writers are the backbone of the writing industry – and our lives.
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