Technical Writer

I am a professional journalist–many years experience in magazine and newspaper writing–and read your article with great interest.

Having recently become self-employed I have set up a home office and am exploring the world of freelance writing.

The area in which I live is very IT-connected and many available writing jobs request tech writers experienced in the IT field.

In short–I am viewing the job world somewhat opposite your situation. I don’t pretend to be an IT expert, but I know how to communicate effectively through the written word.

My question–how important is it for a writer to have a background in IT to be a techical writer in the IT field? I have done tech writing in the past (instruction manuals for the pulp and paper industry.) I knew little about the machines for which I was writing instructions, but was able to understand and clearly explain how the machines worked.

Would appreciate feedback on this topic.

Thanks

Chris

I’d like to say that not knowing the IT industry makes no difference, but I think I would be lying. Being part of the industry definitely gives you an in, and you would probably find that if it came down to you and one other person who was familiar with the industry then that other person would probably get the job.

However, having said that, don’t despair. It shouldn’t stop you getting work in the industry, particularly not if you turn your other skills to your advantage.

• You are a technical writer (you have written those instruction manuals, and tech writers don’t all come from IT)
• You understand programs from a user’s point of view
• You can write simply and clearly
• You are used to writing to deadlines
• You’re used to writing quickly
• You’re used to rewriting to editors requirements
• You’re used to talking to people and getting information which you then turn into documentation
• You’re used to working with house styles

(I’m making some assumptions here about journalism, based on the few journalists I know.)

With skills like these all you need is a foot in the door because (assuming that you’re okay at it) and once you’re in you should stay in.

The two areas most of my writer, but non-tech writer friends fall down in (from an IT-related perspective) are that 1) they don’t know the tools and 2) they’re not comfortable with project management and the development lifecycle.

Many of my non-tech-writer writer friends know Word, and only enough to do basic typing. They think it ‘un-writerly’ to learn technical skills like other programs.

It helps considerably if you know some of the tools of the trade. Not necessarily well, but you need to know that they exist and what they do. Most of these you can download for a month’s trial. All of the Microsoft Office suite, screen capture tools like Snag-It, some form of flowcharting software, and a whole lot more. If you haven’t already done so, check out Tom Johnson’s article on Five skills every technical writer needs over at I’d Rather Be Writing. Tom also has some other good articles about technical writing as a career which might help you, and although I couldn’t find the link quickly enough to add to this reply, I think he has a blog about tools he uses.

The other thing you will find IT really heavy on is project management and the project lifecycle. This is why I said that writing to deadlines is an asset. You need to make your employer trust that you can deliver–on time, on budget. This is very important.

Network if you can. In my experience of IT a lot of jobs are still offered to people you know rather than being advertised. See if there’s a local tech writers group and whether or not you can join it.

What you’re trying to do is convince these people that even though you’re not from IT, you can still deliver what they want.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and good suggestions.

Part of the reason I am focussing on technical writing ops is the effect the current U.S. economy is having on job creation and the impact information technology is having on the field of print journalism.

Advertising dollars are quickly leaaving print for the Web and even the New York Times has not been immune from this growing trend.

I am looking to re-tool my skills toward technical writing because I’m afraid there are going to be many more journalists and broadcast news people out of work before the economy adjusts to the changing technology and changing way that people receive news and information.

I just hope there continues to be need for people with my skill set in the future.

Thanks

Sad to say I expect tech writers to be in a similar position fairly soon. In industry downturns the tech writing jobs get scarcer, and you get paid less. Even so, it’s still a good job, and probably one of the better paid writing jobs.

Getting a technical writing qualification within Western Australia has been a big issue for me.

I have been working as a technical writer for close to ten years now and really only fell into the career after moving across from a help desk/support job.

Most of my experience has come from on the job training within a international software development company. Besides a TAFE diploma, which probably isn’t worth much, I really don’t have much.

Now that I’m looking at moving jobs, I’m expecting this to be a real problem.

Hi Worried

Despite what I say about writing qualifications coming in the future, I think that anyone with your sort of experience (ten years, you say) , won’t need a writing qualification to get another tech writing job.

When you get to that type of experience it’s far more important to work on selling your tech writing, project management and people skills than it is worry about what pieces of paper you have.

As writers most of us are notoriously bad at selling ourselves, particularly if we have been in one job for a long time. You have to take a long, hard look at what your skills are and produce a marketable resume.

How do you know when it’s working? When you start getting a high proportion of interviews for the jobs you apply for. If you’re getting interviews but no jobs, then it’s the next step, working on your interview skills. That’s always the worst part for me.