Contents
What is technical writing?
When people ask me this question after learning what I do for a living, my standard answer is usually something like:
‘We’re the ones who write those user guides and tutorials that no one ever reads.’
That’s a simplified answer of course. Technical writing is any piece of writing that describes the application and use of a product or service. The intended audience could be anyone from the end user of the product or clients to internal stakeholders, like developers. Documents might include how-to guides, user guides, reference documents etc.
Before a tech writer can get to the writing, they have to learn about the product they’ll be documenting. This could be hardware or software, and if the writer is from a non-tech background like me, this can be challenging. The good news is no one expects the tech writer to have an expert knowledge on the product at the start.
As a tech writer, you also need to understand who you are writing for—your audience. Are they developers, bankers, other non-tech people? What can you assume about their current level of knowledge of the product, or any skills they need to have to use the product?
Then the content itself—how are you going to write it up in a way that makes sense for your audience? And what are you going to write—tutorials, how-to guides, reference material? How will you organize the content? Is text the only way to get the information across, what about a video format?
What can I expect as a technical writer?
You can see from the nature of this job that it’s going to appeal to a certain type of person. Let’s look at what’s involved in technical writing so you can decide if it’s a fit for you:
You’re always learning. I think this is a must-have characteristic if you want to get into the field. While tech writers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, the one thing they all have in common is curiosity and a love of learning. My first tech writing job involved documenting securitization software. Yeah, I had no clue what that meant either. But once I learned what securitization and asset-backed securities were, I realized that I finally understood what happened during the global financial crisis in 2008—a good 12 years later. Bonus!
Anyway, my point is, a lack of knowledge should excite you, not make you nervous. Like I noted earlier, no one expects you to know their product right off the bat or be an expert in it.
You’re consulting with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These are the specialists in the field you are working in. If it’s a type of software, then you can expect to engage with engineers, developers and the like, to understand product features, and so that they can review your work to ensure accuracy.
You love words, writing and good communication. This one might be obvious. You should know the basics of good writing like avoiding the passive voice, removing ambiguity, being concise, proper sentence structure etc. I should note here, you need to be okay with others reviewing and critiquing your work as well. Put your ego aside, and remember it’s all going to make you a better writer.
No one wants to read what you’re writing. This will actually make you a good tech writer if you understand this truth. Think about when you’re using a program and trying to figure out how to do something. You’ll probably ask Google, and hope that the answer is in the very first result. You’ll skim the content quickly—hoping to find the answer in under 5 seconds. The longer you have to spend hunting down the answer you want, the more irritated you get.
That’s exactly how a tech writer’s audience is approaching the docs. They just want to get the info they want, and get the heck outta there. When you internalize this, you get really succinct in your writing, and make the information easy to find.
It pays well. I read recently that tech has become more in demand since the pandemic, so there’s never been a better time to get into the field. I can only speak to my experience: when I began tech writing in Toronto, Canada before the pandemic, I was seeing offers in the range $57,000 to $60,000 CAD (annual salary). I understand for Toronto, that amount doesn’t get you very far, but let’s assume you live in a place where the cost of living is reasonable. And that amount is just to begin with: the more experience you gain in this field, the more your salary will increase. I heard that there are startups looking for tech writers who offer very attractive salaries equivalent to those offered by the FAANG1 group.
Here are some downsides:
Not all companies see the value in documentation. Unfortunately, there are some who view documentation as an afterthought. I experienced a bit of this when I was the only tech writer for a company. Folks would ‘forget’ to include me when demonstrating a new product feature, but I’d be expected to write about it after. This isn’t so much an issue if it’s a larger company with an established tech writing team.
The product can be complex. How can you write about something you don’t really understand? There’s no clear answer here, but like everything else, the tech writer should focus on what they can control. Ask for training, ask to test the product yourself to get more familiar with it, and get help from SMEs.
The documentation may be boring. Sometimes, you may be documenting APIs which aren’t the most thrilling to write about (or so I’m told). Also, as I’m starting to discover, there is less chance for creativity when working for a larger company that has a well-established style guide.
How to get into tech writing
The good news—there is no specific background you need to have to get into the field. All the tech writers I have met so far come from a variety of backgrounds. Some used to be engineers and developers, but many come from a non-tech background. I recently heard of a tech writer who used to be an actor. As long as you have the traits mentioned above, you can get into this line of work.
Do you need educational qualifications to become a tech writer? Not really. I went down the educational route because I needed that structure, but there are others who just start looking for documentation opportunities where they are, and build up their portfolio from there. Write the Docs is a great group to join to learn more about tech writing and meet folks in the field. I’d also recommend applying for the Season of Docs (SoD) program if you want to get your feet wet—it’s very much suited for beginner tech writers. I’ve written about my own experience with SoD elsewhere on this blog.
My story
Until I became a technical writer, I wasn’t ever sure I would find work that fit. I had spent years working in perfectly respectable jobs that just weren’t a good fit for me, and I had thought that maybe that was okay.
However, I still couldn’t bring myself to commit to the finance jobs I was doing. When I discovered the Technical Writing program after going back to university, I found myself experiencing something that had been lacking in all my prior jobs—interest.
Despite having no background in tech, I enjoyed the assignments, and found myself experiencing ‘flow’2 numerous times over the course of the program. When I graduated, I decided to pursue tech writing instead of translating (which was the original plan), and haven’t looked back. After years of working just to earn a pay cheque, I finally found a career that was a good fit for me.
0 Comments