Technical Writer

Here in Australia, at least, until recently there were few courses on technical writing. Those that existed were mostly 6-12 week night classes, two hours per week, or weekend classes over one or two full days.

A writing qualification was not required for a position as a technical writer.

There were two ways to get a job.

• Fall into it
• Deliberately choose technical writing as a career.

Falling into the job

Most people fall into the job.

They might know a product or system really well, for example, and start documenting it for others; maybe even running training sessions. They become known as the person who documents the system or process and gradually, over time, become to realise they are a technical writer.

Sometimes, the only way they realise what the job is called is when they start looking for their next job, using search terms like ‘documentation’, ‘on-line help’ and ‘training materials’.

For this person, choosing the ‘career’ of technical writing is often a good career move; a step up from what they are currently doing.

These people often use it as a stepping stone to bigger and better jobs.

The career technical writer

A very small number of people deliberately choose the career of technical writer.

They know that such a role exists and they actively seek it out.

In my experience, this second group comes almost exclusively from the IT sector, and almost always writes outside of work as well.

For this type of person, choosing the career of technical writer is a sideways step at best, a move into a career backwater that has little chance of advancement.

Technical writing is not going to get you a long way up the corporate ladder. Very few companies have teams large enough to offer a management career path in the field. If you want to go far, you must change streams.

While the only CEO you’re ever likely to become is CEO of your own company, it’s a great job if you choose it. You can pick your jobs to suit you (within reason), there is variety, and you get to do something you love.

Writing courses 

Over the last few years a number of courses have been introduced particularly for technical writers. 

In Victoria, for example, you can choose from courses at Swinburne, RMIT or Holmesglen. 

It will be interesting to see how the job dynamics change once the graduates from the new university courses start making an impact.

Last Modified : October 7th, 2006
Filed under : Tech Writer
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