I am a technical writer, and have been since 1989. But I’ve been working for the same company (through two acquisitions) for the last 10 years, so I’m really out of touch with the job market and jobhunting strategies.
Anyway, I have an online friend who is currently out of work. I think he would be a natural for technical writing–he’s technically savvy (builds his own computers, has been tinkering with hardware and computers for quite awhile, and is teaching himself Java) and he writes better than almost anybody I’ve seen online outside the Dope. I know from past experience that technical ability + the ability to explain things well and clearly + facility with the English language make for a very good and desirable combination in a tech writer. He thinks the idea sounds pretty good too, and wants to pursue it. For what it’s worth, he’s also very diplomatic and a good project leader.
The problem is, though, that he doesn’t have any industry experience. I’m trying to come up with suggestions for him to pursue, but I’m in California and he’s in Florida (Tampa area) so I know nothing about the market there. I’m assuming that an entry-level position, or even a contract or part-time position, might be a good place to start. Anything to build up a portfolio and get industry contacts.
Can anyone give me any suggestions, or point me at any places I might look?
There are a lot of open-source projects in dire need of good documentation, and many of them are Java-based. It’s not the same thing as professional experience, but it would certainly look good on a résumé.
And the great thing about working on an open-source project is the glory. Your company doesn’t take the credit; you do.
I took an online technical writing course that was fairly decent. He could give that a shot and end up with some level of certification. Due diligence as to the credentials of the institution you choose would be required of course.
The first thing I’d recommend is to put together a portfolio of writing samples. Even in entry-level jobs, you have to show that you have written. When I first started, I used some stuff I’d done for classes and a couple of things from work (a training job). If he doesn’t have anything yet, he can volunteer to write the documentation for some of the free open source software out there (don’t really know how to find such work).
The fact that he’s got computer experience is a great help. In most places, about 75-95% of the tech writing jobs are in the software industry and they seem to want geeks for writers.
Have him sign up for Techwr-l (list) and search the archives. They have discussions about how to get into tech writing about once a month. Lots and lots of good info and advice there. Also, join the Society for Technical Communications and get involved – networking.
The best way to get that first actual job is to work through contract agencies. Check the yellow pages under writing, temporary job services, and such. Call every agency and ask if they place technical writers. There are a few agencies in most cities that specialize in tech writing and similar work, there are several more that specialize in technical services including tech writing, and some that get tech writing requests occasionally. I compiled a list of all the agencies in my area with names and contact info and sent resumes to all of them.
I got most of the above advice from Making Money In Technical Writing by Peter Kent. I think the book might be outdated now, but some of the basic advice is very good.
Well, as I said my information is a bit old so I don’t know how helpful it will be nowadays, but I’ll give it a shot from my experience.
My degree is in Political Science. I know a lot of places ask for an English degree, but I’ve found that if you can prove to them that you write well (and especially after you have experience in the industry), they don’t hold you to that. There are technical writing courses and programs, but I never took one (other than some one-off courses once I was actually employed).
As far as the work goes, it varies widely by where you are. If you work at a small company or startup, you might be the only writer on staff, or one of very few. That means you have to do all aspects of the writing process–research, writing, tracking down review information, production, figuring out which tools to use and how to use them…I’ve done that and I find it fun, but it’s a bit more stressful. If you work at a larger company (like I do now), the standards and tools are all set down already, you work in a group, and your responsibility is for one or more products that you have to keep up on changes for and document for each release.
A skill I’ve found that’s very useful in technical writing is to have a geek mindset and a love of technology, but also be able to explain things in a clear and concise manner to a non-techie. That to me is the most fun part of the job: taking complex, engineering-y information and distilling it down to instructions that someone without a technical background can follow. This is especially interesting when you’re dealing with engineers who don’t have English as a first language (a lot of software engineers around this area are Chinese or Indian–great at writing software, but not always great at making themselves clear in English) so not only do you have to decipher the engineer-speak, but you have to unravel some very convoluted sentences and try to pull the meaning out of them.
One thing I like a lot about this job: aside from a few very specific times during the production cycle, there aren’t “documentation emergencies.” We don’t generally have to work overtime, there’s not a lot of stress compared to the software engineers, and things are generally just a little more low-key and easygoing. Sure, we don’t get paid like the engineers, but tech writers make a good living and I for one am fine with foregoing engineering-size paychecks to avoid engineering-type headaches.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I’ll pass it along to my friend. Unfortunately, I’m not sure whether taking a course would be feasible for him right now–he’s just lost his job and is still trying to get back pay owed him from his old job, so he and his wife are on a pretty tight budget right now. But the idea about documenting open-source software, and also for checking out techwr-l (didn’t even know that was around anymore!) might work for him.
As I understand things, it is extremely difficult to break into the field now unless you have some kind of degree/diploma/certificate in technical writing. Certainly, when I was a freelance tech writer a few years ago, my 20+ years of experience together with my portfolio and my references overcame that hurdle; but it was equally obvious that employers weren’t taking chances on English degrees and journalism backgrounds looking to break into the field as they did in the days when there were no such programs (and when I got my start :)).
I think the ideas here are good ones. If your friend documents anything on his own, whether it’s open-source software or some kind of car repair, it’s a worthwhile exercise and a potential portfolio-filler. The STC is an excellent resource also; and while I cannot speak for his local chapter, mine had a job bank that members could use. Even if there were no tech writing jobs listed anywhere else, there were always some there. Other STC members can fill him in on local insiders’ information: “Avoid Agency X like the plague because they promise the world and never deliver, but speak with Joe Blow at Agency Y because Joe gets the best jobs; and if Company A ever posts a job, then regardless of who they list as the contact, you need to speak with Sue Smith” sort of thing. And of course, the contacts he could make through networking at the STC might help overcome the “no educational qualification” obstacle.
There would be no harm in checking out Techwr-l, but I have to say that I was never too impressed by it; and IMHO, I don’t think your friend should put too much faith in what he sees there. Even in the archives, the mailing list format made things difficult to read (why couldn’t they just use a forum?), and there were too many “me too” or “I agree” kind of messages where everything prior had been quoted–the sheer volume of these made it very difficult to follow informative posts or debates. Debates could sometimes get quite heated and out-of-control also. Still, there were some people who always had something useful to say and if your friend can identify these folks and look for their messages, he might get something from the experience.
I have a related question: how can you be the tech writer for a project which you didn’t design?
Suppose you’re hired by a camera company to write the owner’s manual for a new product: a digital camera with zoom, macro lens and 15 pre-programmed exposure settings. And suppose there is a sort of photoshop program included free with the camera.
Now, to write a good manual, you’re going to need to know a lot about photography in general ( f-stops, apertures, light metering, depth of field, focal lengths,etc)— even before you start to write specific instructions for this specific camera.
And the photoshop program will have 20 icons on its toolbar, all of which are totally new to you. How do you learn all its details. (example : a copied text item cannot have its font changed unless you previously defined the text style as a having variable size, and not a constant size. The engineer who wrote the software knows that, but how do you learn it?)
In short, I just don’t get it.
How does knowing how to write well in the English language make it possible to write all the technical details of a subject which you dont know well?
So what am I not understanding about this profession?
Well, the simple answer is that most companies will have their engineers create what are called “specifications.” Some of these are of the functional variety, describing the various features and how they work. Some are technical, describing the coding involved. There are also requirements specifications, usually written by Marketing, which describe what the product should do. You combine all of these, along with talking to the engineers and marketing people and playing with the product yourself if possible, to get an idea of what you’re supposed to write about. If the specs are good, this is pretty easy. If they’re not, then it gets more interesting (read: frustrating).
Now, if you’re talking about a manual for a product where you actually have to know what a specialized type of person is going to do with it (such as your camera example, designed for seasoned photographers) then there ideally should be an expert involved somewhere–either writing the specs, available for you to talk to, or at least reviewing the doc. Otherwise, all you can do is either do a “just the facts” manual where you describe how all the features work but not what specifically to do with them, or you educate yourself about how the product is used. If all your company makes is cameras, this is a feasible and intelligent approach. But if next week you’ll be writing toaster manuals, then it starts to become more problematic and you should probably depend more on the experts if they’re available.
I have a somewhat different problem. I have a certification, but it hasn’t done me a lot of good the past three years. The jobs I come across keep asking for multiple years of experience and intimate knowledge of certain software, processes, and/or programming languages (my major was English).
I’m getting to the point where I figure I have to get further training to even have a shot. Any thoughts, especially on possible focuses?
I’ve considered it, but with my budget the way it is, is it really reliable for someone like me who has only the certification and not much, if any, direct experience? I don’t want to shell out the money for the dues if all they can offer me are jobs that require 2+ years experience and intimate knowledge of C++, SQLs, expert level HTML, and XML. As I said, I can get those for free.
I never found HTML that difficult; but then, I once documented a project in IBM’s Bookmaster, which was also a markup language. Still, once the basics and concepts were learned, HTML was no problem at all. The trick, I found, was to get the idea across to the prospective employer that you know a markup language. (Or whatever else they’re asking for.) If you can achieve that, you can use your knowledge to learn whatever else they throw at you. In other words, you do as I did: use your knowledge of Bookmaster to learn HTML.
I always found that some (not all) prospective employers had no idea what to look for in a technical writer, so they looked for one the same way they looked for engineers. IMHO, this was a mistake. They didn’t realize that a tech writer brings a different skillset to the table–from how to write for a certain audience to how to use high-end documentation tools, such as FrameMaker and RoboHelp. These are things engineers don’t tend to know. So while it could be beneficial for a tech writer to know things like C++ and SQL processes, it would be absolutely essential to know what you studied to gain your certification. Many companies out there knew this, and hired accordingly. Those that didn’t sound like the ones you’re encountering.
FTR, there is a lot more to tech writing than just documenting software. In my career, I wrote about things as diverse as pharmaceuticals and RC robots. A colleague found her niche documenting military hardware; and another ended up writing policy and procedures manuals for a government agency. No amount of C++ and SQL knowledge would have helped with those things, but they still required a technical writer. Maybe you should investigate some non-software tech writing jobs.
I’d still recommend STC. If you’re on a budget, get in touch with your local chapter and see if you can sit in on a meeting (my local chapter had once-a-month meetings with a guest speaker and plenty of socializing/networking afterwards) for free, to see if you like it. Find out from the STC members there what the chapter can offer you–there might well be courses and seminars on C++ and HTML that are designed for the certificate-holding tech writer with the English background. Regardless, you will find people with whom you can speak outside an interview situation. Some of these will control hiring at their companies. If you can get to know them in a more relaxed setting, you may find that when they’re hiring, they’ll consider you in spite of how well your qualifications match their stated requirements.
Ah, and I should add that many of the people I knew through STC had English, journalism, and language backgrounds. Very few had engineering backgrounds. What seemed to count most at STC was comfort in engineering situations and a curiosity about technical topics. At any rate, with your background, I’d say that you’d fit right in at STC.
Thanks for the perspective. I had a chance to join the STC at student rates back when I was earning the certification, but I never did it, because of the misgivings I mentioned above. I figured it’d just be useless lecturing and more of the same “no job without experience, and no experience without job.”
Now that you’ve given an “insider’s perspective,” as it were, maybe I missed an opportunity that I can try to pick up again.
I know from past experience that technical ability + the ability to explain things well and clearly + facility with the English language make for a very good and desirable combination in a tech writer. He thinks the idea sounds pretty good too, and wants to pursue it. For what it’s worth, he’s also very diplomatic and a good project leader.