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Wander to Pursue a Career as a Technical Writer

Career as a Technical Writer

Have you ever seen the booklet that came with your desktop PC or your laptop? Or maybe the Xbox or Playstation? Such descriptive written and graphic materials play alongside every gadget/car/software etc. or any type of product that needs specific description for the users. These are written by specialized Technical Writers. Some others are specialized in healthcare software or even agricultural machinery. Anything you can think of. Some even work on trans-language projects viz. translations. Or even government agendas, action plans and policies.
Whenever technical information is conveyed in writing at work, it is, by definition, technical writing.
Even, resume writing is a type of technical writing and is a high-selling business. The booming roles are, although, in software development, engineering and healthcare for which you do not really need to know computer programming per se but have a hang of it at least. Whether or not you are a convincing and compelling writer, you may excel as a Technical Writer as today’s writing is about the predefined structure and run on minimalist principles! Let us get a closer look at who Technical Writers are, what they do, how they do it and how to become one.

Have you ever seen the booklet that came with your desktop PC or your laptop? Or maybe the Xbox or Playstation? Such descriptive written and graphic materials play alongside every gadget/car/software etc. or any type of product that needs specific description for the users. These are written by specialized Technical Writers. Some others are specialized in healthcare software or even agricultural machinery. Anything you can think of. Some even work on trans-language projects viz. translations. Or even government agendas, action plans and policies.
Whenever technical information is conveyed in writing at work, it is, by definition, technical writing.
Even, resume writing is a type of technical writing and is a high-selling business. The booming roles are, although, in software development, engineering and healthcare for which you do not really need to know computer programming per se but have a hang of it at least. Whether or not you are a convincing and compelling writer, you may excel as a Technical Writer as today’s writing is about the predefined structure and run on minimalist principles! Let us get a closer look at who Technical Writers are, what they do, how they do it and how to become one.

Why become a Technical Writer?

Technical Writers write various types of documents to communicate complex technical information in a language that is easily understood by common people who may not have any technical background. The most common examples are the product instruction manuals that you get when you buy an electronic gadget such as a television set, mobile phone, air-conditioner, etc. The installation guides, user guides, instruction manuals, etc. are all created and written by Technical Writers.

Technical Writers also work to disseminate technical information among people with some technical knowledge. For example, they may prepare a manual for car servicing technicians about how to repair and maintain a car. They may prepare a document to instruct a computer hardware technician about how to assemble a computer CPU. 

In the current industrial scenario

Technical writing critically covers all types of documentation of complex technical processes including but not limited to

  • Operational/instructional/testing/ maintenance documents – like user guides for software, say suppose aircraft flying software for crewmen
  • Reports -for example for an organization’s action plans
  • Policy & procedure manuals- such as legal policy documents or public policies of a government agency
  • Briefs – about a meeting agenda etc.
  • Proposals or request for proposals (RFPs) – for example, bids to earn prospective clients
  • Booklets
  • Catalogs – like trade catalogs distributed by manufacturers of tilling machinery for an example
  • Technical/ administrative issues for paper, multimedia or web-based publication
  • Manuscripts – such as scientific papers written by experimentalists about their research
  • Literature review – reviews of research publications, for example.
  • Abstracts – the introductory part of a research paper in any field like science, architecture or social sciences or psychology or others
  • Posters – usually presented in an international conference or symposium where researchers demonstrate a short descriptive illustration on a poster about their research
  • Slide presentations and other types of technical content

Whenever technical information is conveyed in writing at work, it is, by definition, technical writing.

Primary ability and Duties of a Technical Writer

Technical Writers have the ability to structure complex technical information in a user-friendly manner. They also tediously assess what information is critical for the reader. They take advanced technical concepts and communicate them as clearly, accurately, and comprehensively as possible to their intended audience.

For example, a car manual has everything – all minute details including the tips for driving the car more efficiently and how to prolong the life of various parts such as brakes & transmission.

Print and Electronic Forms

Today, technical writing documents appear in two forms mostly: print and electronically coupled to Internet protocols, with the electronic format being the more prevalent and popular for consumption through mass media.

Also, in electronic form these documents may include multiple media such as high-resolution graphics, audio and video clips, animation sequences, and visual effects.

Getting the idea?

Now, let us get to the workflow of a Technical Writer.

Analyzing the objective

Technical Writers have to analyze the purpose (or function) of a communication to understand what a document must accomplish and eventually determine if a communication aims to persuade readers to:

  • think or act a certain way
  • enable them to perform a task
  • help them understand something 
  • change their attitude

The Eight Golden Parameters

Hence, the activity, that a reader is supposed to do, guides Technical Writers on how to format their communication. As a Technical Writer, you will constantly have a combination of these queries at work and you must resolve them to produce content that has high degrees of honesty, clarity, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, conciseness, professional appearance, and correctness. These are the eight parameters that are measured to designate technical documents as useful.

Finding the answers

So, at work, you will keep asking yourself:

  • The one primary question is – Who is the intended audience?
  • The Whats:-
  • The audience’s role
  • Form that the reader expects
  • The audience’s intentions
  • The audience’s knowledge level
  • Factors influencing the situation
  • The demographic characteristics in case of multiple targets
  • The How:-
  • How does the reader feel about the subject/ the sender?
  • The Why:-
  • Why does the audience need to perform that task? (mostly in the case of technical instructional materials)

Application fields

Technical writers may specialize in a particular area but must have a good understanding of the products they describe. For example, writers working in the software development field must possess basic scripting knowledge and an understanding of the tools used by engineers during software development.

Whereas, other technical writers may specialize in scientific/ medical documentation, e-commerce, or manufacturing industry-related products and services. Today the maximum industrial absorption of Technical Writers is in the fields of IT, software development, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and defense.

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This includes all Technical Writers who are employed in the IT – ITES industry working with software development companies as well as consulting agencies who provide content writing services to such companies.
Their work includes user manuals, design specifications, functional manuals, programming manuals, testing manuals instructional guides, installation demos, etc. which are in line with the product delivery.
These products are any kind of software including desktop software, e-commerce software, games, mobile phone software, both system/ application software or server software, data center hypervisors, etc., and anything that you can possibly think of that runs on suites of software.

What does a Technical Writer do?

As a Technical Writer, you will be engaged with one or more of the following roles & responsibilities as well as other associated duties:

  1. You will research and translate technical information (including engineering processes & specifications) into comprehensive descriptive matter using texts, graphs, drawings etc. for nontechnical and technical users.
  2. You will be creating, developing, planning, writing, & editing operational, instructional, testing or maintenance documents, reports, manuals, briefs, proposals, booklets, catalogs etc. for paper, multimedia or web-based publication.
  3. You will be writing, editing, reconciling and managing high-quality scientific research papers for publication/presentation or for submission to regulatory authorities and/or project teams.
  4. You will study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to understand the involved technology and other details.
  5. You will collaborate with various teams such as application support teams, technical support teams, engineering teams, production teams, creative teams etc. to understand project requirements and ongoing operations.
  6. You will conduct interviews with various users, customer representatives, vendors, employees or engineering/ production staff to gather data about products & services to ensure the optimum usability of your work.
  7. You will prepare charts, graphs, & diagrams as needed in technical documents and coordinate content with Subject Matter Experts (SME) for accuracy and effective communication.
  8. You will recommend formats and produce written materials that conform to enterprise standardization and quality assurance principles.
  9. You will analyze developments in your specific field to determine the need for revisions in previously published materials and the development of new material.
  10. You will maintain knowledge of current & future techniques and technologies through research, training labs, reading, conferences and experimentation with new technologies in the workplace as applicable.

How to become a Technical Writer – Eligibility Criteria

To get into this field, you will need to pass Class 10 all subjects as per the scheme of studies. Then you must complete Class 11-12 with :

  • Physics. Chemistry, Mathematics along with any other subject as per the scheme of studies
  • any subject combination as per the scheme of studies
  • Physics, Chemistry, Biology along with any other subject as per the scheme of studies
  • English Core along with any other subject as per the scheme of studies

After Class 11-12, you can go for a:

  • Bachelor’s degree in any Engineering discipline or Technology discipline
  • Bachelor’s degree in any Physical Science discipline
  • Bachelor’s degree in any Biological Science discipline
  • Bachelor’s degree in any other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical discipline
  • Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication/ Mass Communication and Journalism/ and related discipline

Then, you may study:

  • Master’s degree in any Engineering discipline or Technology discipline
  • Master’s degree in any Physical Science discipline
  • Master’s degree in any Biological Science discipline
  • Master’s degree in any other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical discipline
  • Master’s degree in Mass Communication/ Mass Communication and Journalism/ and related discipline

Job Opportunities

Work as a Technical Writer or in related positions is varied, and distinct in every field with diverse roles and responsibilities. Incumbents come from varying educational backgrounds with multiple variations in skill sets and aptitudes. Hence, collating all classes of opportunities under a single umbrella is pretty complicated. However, consider the following information as almost integrative but not exhaustive.

Your work may be focused in any one of these industrial verticals among others including but not limited to

  • Electronics
  • Healthcare
  • Infrastructure
  • Engineering
  • Retail
  • Telecommunications
  • Digital Media
  • Human Resources
  • Consumer products, Jewellery, apparel, design
  • Media (film, television, news)

If you join as Technical Writer Intern/ Junior Technical Writer/ Associate Technical Writer

  • Technical Writer
  • Documentation Specialist
  • Procedure Writer
  • Text Engineer
  • Technical author
  • Research Technical Writer
  • Technical Manual Writer
  • Scientific Writer
  • Academic Writer
  • Technical Editor
  • User Documentation Specialist
  • Technical Describer
  • Technical Content Writer
  • Technical Specification Editor

You may work with –

  • Engineering/ IT companies:- Create/edit a variety of detailed end-user documents (user content & product documentation) with technical information into easy-to-understand instructions; performing technical writing, research, & related editing functions to prepare business proposals, reports, and user documentation, briefings & presentations, publish corporate communications, guidelines, and other written materials; working closely with various departments to understand project requirements. This may be in different fields including software, infrastructure, telecommunications, and real estate.
  • Pharmaceuticals companies and related healthcare businesses:- support the development of all technical documentation; Create/edit a variety of detailed end-user documents with technical information into easy-to-understand instructions; coordinate, review, & prepare/maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), validation protocols, preparing specifications, preparing master batch records, publish corporate communications, preparing certificates of analysis, and other controlled documents
  • Media/ news production companies or related businesses:- writing articles, news, blogs, website content, press releases, social writing, publishing corporate communications etc.
  • Any consultancies providing HR, sales, marketing, & recruitment services or such advisory services to startups, emerging or established companies such as Capgemini, Randstad India Ltd., Adecco Group AG, Collabera Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and many more.
  • Consumer products, Jewellery, apparel manufacturers, crafts/ accessories designers etc.

Salary of a Technical Writer

At the entry-level jobs with private companies, you may expect to get about: Rs. 25,000 – 40,000 or even more a month (higher sides by MNCs to premier institution graduates). In junior-level jobs (after 5+ years of experience), you can make about Rs. 35,000 – 65,000 or more per month.

In mid-level jobs with private companies in India, you can expect to earn about Rs. 45,000 – 95,000 or even more a month.

In senior-level jobs with private companies in India, you can expect to earn about Rs. 70,000 – 2,00,000 or even more a month.

All higher ranges are by MNC Consulting firms/ engineering firms/ pharmaceuticals companies/ architectural firms and lower ones by medium to small-scale Indian companies/ media startups/ content freelancing agencies.

Major opportunities with startups today are concentrated at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Vizag, Chennai, and Delhi in declining order of abundance.

Many aspirants are also proceeding to complete their Doctoral studies especially the ones in the Life Sciences domain aiming to associate with a drug manufacturer/ analytics laboratory after their Ph.D.

After a Master’s degree, a stipend in India while doing Ph.D. is about Rs. 35,000-38,000 a month in a university or research center or as a Research Associate with a salary of about Rs. 15,000-20,000 a month.

In other organizations/companies mostly after a Ph.D. as a Scientific Writer, salaries in India may vary between Rs. 50,000-1,20,000 a month or even more.

Career progression in Technical Writer profession

Many aspirants are also proceeding to complete their Doctoral studies especially the ones in the Life Sciences domain aiming to associate with a drug manufacturer/ analytics laboratory after their Ph.D.

After a Master’s degree, a stipend in India while doing Ph.D. is about Rs. 35,000-38,000 a month in a university or research center or as a Research Associate with a salary of about Rs. 15,000-20,000 a month.

In other organizations/companies mostly after a Ph.D. as a Scientific Writer, salaries in India may vary between Rs. 50,000-1,20,000 a month or even more.

This pathway has a bright outlook especially because the industry dynamics are very encouraging. However, distinct challenges & opportunities exist for the field of technical writing in a technological age with new media and computer technologies permeating all industrial verticals.

Keep in mind, the methodical knowledge of technical writers will remain crucial in bringing information into the proper shape, to deliver content whose dynamics lie external to the document context. In another term, “metadata”.

The Global Enterprise Content Management Market is projected to grow at a rate of almost 15.2% compounded annually over the next five years from 2018 to 2023.

The Document Management Systems Market is expected to reach USD 6.78 billion by 2023 from USD 3.59 billion in 2017, at a rate of 11.17% compounded annually.

The Product Information Management market worldwide is projected to grow by USD 27.1 billion to reach over USD 16.9 billion by the year 2025 driven by a rate of 23.9% compounded annually.

The Knowledge Management market worldwide is projected to grow by USD 798.9 billion to reach over USD 510.8 billion by the year 2025, driven by a rate of 20.4% compounded annually.

New business models such as “information-as-a-service” is coming up, especially in sectors such as heavy machinery, where users pay to receive additional content or metadata of better quality.

With Industry 4.0, the advance of cyber-physical systems, machine-to-machine communication, smart factories, mass customization and the merging of products & services (servitization), there is a need of smart documentation.

The digital manuals covering evolving software delivery lifecycles or smart production lines for such modularized & interconnected factories are still delivered in monolithic document formats that lack structural information and metadata.

Technical Writers are expected to shoulder this huge responsibility of delivering “intelligent information”, dynamic delivery of content modularized in self-contained topics and enriched with classified metadata.

“Predictive Maintenance” is another essential change-promoting element of Industry 4.0 where an appropriate service procedure manual already exists filtered by machine type, affected component, and target group. Technical Writers are increasingly being expected to make adjustments to accommodate such change-affected elements of the looming Industry 4.0.

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