View original post published on Medium.com
Ali Griego
6 min read
Jul 20
Consider Technical Writing
I’ve been a writer since the second I was gifted my first vibrantly pink, leopard-print Lisa Frank diary — complete with a lock & key. I chronicled the fascinating day-to-day of a pre-teen in the 90’s, and that’s when I knew that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. For me, that meant being a journalist, I guess. In college, I enrolled in multimedia journalism but was disappointed to realize the program still heavily focused on broadcast: how to speak, how to smile, how to dress. Not a whole lot of writing, or the kind of writing I wanted to do anyway…
I was lucky to have an older cousin who had a successful career as a reporter for a major news outlet. I leaned on her for career advice and the life she outlined for me was not one I wanted. Essentially, I’d work insane hours at insane times of day, all for little to no pay.
I was already a struggling full-time student balancing multiple low-income jobs just to pay rent. Why in the world would I continue an education path down a road to more of the same?
Yet I knew I still wanted to be a writer, but I wanted financial stability and a good life. Was it possible?
That’s when I discovered technical writing.
What the hell is technical writing, you may ask — a question I hear often.
What is a Technical Writer
Tech writers are writers all the same, but the content we write is dense with technical data, processes, and industry specific jargon. Technical writers work with engineers, scientists, software developers, medical professionals, and a zillion other professions to communicate their smarty pants information.
Engineers, generally speaking, have extremely detail and process oriented minds. What they don’t have, generally speaking, are great communication skills. Especially when it comes to explaining a complex matter to a non-engineer person, AKA a normie. Enter the technical writer. We are communication experts; we know how to speak to the dumb-dumb audience of normies because we are normies. But, we’ve also learned how to understand the technical mumbo jumbo that comes from these braniacs. We’re able to dissect the complex information provided and make it more digestible, understandable, and dare I say, even sexy. Technical writing is clear, concise, and as brief as possible. It has a seamless structure with a flow that makes sense. It’s accessible, manageable with changes, has sensible graphics and visual displays of data.
We typically write user manuals, standard operating procedures, software specifications, product information, how-to’s, tutorials, policies, and so on. Think iPhone; it has a user manual and technical writers wrote it.
Tech writers do other stuff too, like build and manage sites and repositories where company’s host their information. We regularly interview subject matter experts (the braniacs) to write the information they need to communicate. We also collaborate with or manage other technical writers.
Although I’m learning while I document extremely technical information, I’m still simply a writer. I’ve grown the skillset to sit down with someone, have them explain their content, ask a lot of really dumb questions, and then voila, I Layman’s the heck out of it into easily understandable and usable information.
What About the Dough Tho?
I make six-figures doing technical writing. With my financial stability, I have an enjoyable life. I get to travel, eat great food, and sometimes even pay my bills. And one day, when I reach my mid-60’s, I’ll have enough saved for a down payment on a 500 square foot condo with a community bathroom, or hell, maybe even a whole trailer.
According to Glassdoor, 2023 average income for tech writers is between $68,000 to $108,000.
I‘d say entry level income is closer to $75K, and Senior TWs make between $115K to $140K. Big names in tech pay staggering salaries for their TWs; the highest salaried role I’ve personally seen was $215K.
The industry is strong and growing. Just hop on LinkedIn and do a job search for technical writers. The industries are diverse, the opportunity for remote and hybrid roles are still abundant, and there’s also the option to go freelance and pick up decent paying contracts. Application Programming Interface (API) and software development are probably the strongest industries for growth and on the higher end of pay.
The flexibility and time management of technical writing also opens the opportunity for taking on multiple contracts or dual roles to increase income. I was a technical writer that was promoted into a dual role as project manager. PMs make great salaries, and the fact that I have the added bonus of communication skills can be extra appealing to hirers.
Is it Fulfilling?
Is tech writing the most thrilling or creative work? Well, it depends on the day and the mood I’m in, simply put though, not really. But sometimes it is and I learn a lot of fascinating things. I’ve worked in IT architecture, cybersecurity, software development, manufacturing, and patent licensing.
I also still write the stuff I’m passionate about on the side. I blog; I post articles; I write that ol’ novel that I will never ever finish. I also work freelance on the side, taking on odd-jobs like editing novice authors and doing audio narration. At the end of the day, I’m exactly what I wanted to be when I was all grown up, a bonafide professional writer, and that makes me happy.
Even though I got my degree in technical writing, I’ve worked in other communications roles. I did end up getting into journalism for a brief stint to verify, that in fact the pay really is just above poverty. I’ve worked in internal communications, which is essentially journalism inside a company, which merely means absolutely no one will ever read anything you write. My point is, you always have other options within comms.
Tips to Start Out
Tech writing is a good way to make a living and not a lot of people, even within the communication community, know of this career path. I got my degree in technical writing but it’s not necessary and I’ve found it is actually pretty rare to meet a TW with that specified degree. You can take online courses and certifications to learn the fundamentals of tech writing, and if you’re a natural writer it’s relatively easy to pick up.
There are tech writing forums on LinkedIn with far more experienced TWs than myself, where newcomers can ask general or specific questions about the industry. Members often post open positions within the forums as well.
Getting into the industry can be difficult without experience. Finding tech writing internships, or taking on freelance projects to start building your resume is a great way to start. Consider asking your current employer if they have any documentation needs, do any small project to get your foot in the door. And by no means should you let the “experience required” dishearten you. Myself, as a mid-senior level TW, see job postings that make me roll. “We’re looking for a senior technical writer with 18 years of experience, a degree in microexcursion biomechanics, expert-level skills with the tools PickleBot and GuzzleHub, secret squirrel clearance, a background in space shuttle logistics, and a great but-not-overbearing relationship with their mother”.
This type of job posting is 9 times out of 10 due to hiring managers knowing nothing about technical writing. We are not the subject matter experts, the only background we need is communications, and there are endless tools of the trade out there that are easily learnable because they’re all similar.
Having a stellar portfolio with strong writing samples is just as important. You can create a free online portfolio on site builders like WordPress or Wix. I suggest searching tech writing portfolios to get an idea of where to start.
I recommend looking to start out with smaller companies. There are freelancing sites where a lot of these small companies post jobs. Upwork is my absolute fav for finding small projects, part-time work, or contracts. It’s free, just create a profile, upload work samples, and search their database for postings. Even better, with Upwork’s payment process, you don’t have to stress about not getting paid by shady clients. But there are many other freelancing sites out there and it’s a good idea to have a presence on more than one.
Hopefully some of these tips come in handy if you decide to look into tech writing. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave comments, questions, share your own tips, or leave unsolicited criticism.
This article has been edited by my mother, Dianne, with whom I have a great and only slightly overbearing relationship with. She is an English major, and has an annoying affinity for the semicolon.
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