Technical Writers Are In Demand: Do You Have The = Right Stuff?

Technical=20 Writers Are In Demand: Do You Have The Right Stuff?=20
by = Deborah M.=20 Grimstead

Do you think that you can write a user's = manual that=20 is better than the manual for the last computer you = learned to=20 use? Have you received compliments on the design and = content=20 of the web site you created? Do you want to be part of = the=20 thriving information technology industry? (The U.S. = Department=20 of Commerce announced in April 1998 that the = information=20 technology industry is responsible for more than one = quarter=20 of the country's real economic growth in the last five = years.)=20 If you answered yes to any of the above questions, a = technical=20 writing career may be in your future.=20

What Do Technical Writers Do?=20

Technical writers explain things. They translate = complex=20 information and ideas into content that can be easily=20 understood by a particular audience from the general = public to=20 technically trained people. Technical writers create=20 environmental impact statements, web sites, magazine = articles,=20 proposals, instructions for taking medicine, training = manuals=20 for pilots, repair manuals for blood analyzers, = instructions=20 for using VCRs, online help for computer software, = assembly=20 instructions, newsletters, on-screen instructions for = using=20 your bank's ATM machine, specifications, user's guides = for=20 telephone answering machines, instructions for making=20 microwaved popcorn, computer manuals, and many other = types of=20 documentation. Technical writers work in every = industry, from=20 automobiles to computers to finance to health care. At = one=20 time, technical writers were primarily wordsmiths. = Austin=20 Brown began his technical writing career in Alaska in = 1961,=20 before the computer and the photocopier were = commonplace.=20 Writers used a pencil or an ink pen and wrote words on = paper,=20 he recalls. The paper was handed to a typist who used = a=20 typewriter to type the words. Documents were printed = using a=20 method called offset lithography. The word processing = and=20 desktop publishing software applications that we use = today=20 weren't introduced until the early 1980s. =20

In 1988, Brown retired from his position as head of = the=20 Technical Publications Branch of the Naval Surface = Weapons=20 Center in Virginia. Brown is now semi-retired and a=20 communications consultant in Hawaii. Today he and his=20 colleagues use not only words, but also illustrations, = photographs, video, and computer-based multimedia. Now = more=20 than ever, technical writing is a craft that combines = science,=20 technology, and the humanities. Today's technical = writers are=20 also called information architects, analysts, = technologists,=20 developers, designers, and engineers; web masters; = technical=20 communicators and editors; procedure writers; and=20 documentation specialists. Whatever they are called, = their=20 objective is the same as always: to convey scientific = and=20 technical information concisely, accurately, and = clearly.=20

Why Are Technical Writers in Demand?=20

Demand for technical writers is expected to = continue to=20 increase as technology continues to become more and = more a=20 part of our lives. Popular consumer magazines = identified=20 technical writing as a hot career as early as 1983 = (Ebony) and=20 as recently as 1996 (Working Woman and Black = Enterprise).=20 According to the 1998-99 Occupational Outlook = Handbook,=20 published by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of = Labor=20 Statistics, employment of writers and editors is = expected to=20 increase faster than the average for all occupations = (that is,=20 increase 21 to 35 percent) through the year 2006. The = handbook=20 also says that through the year 2006, opportunities = will be=20 good for technical writers because of the more limited = number=20 of writers who can handle technical material. The = handbook=20 says that online publications and services, which are=20 relatively new, will continue to grow and require an = increased=20 number of writers and editors.=20

The number and variety of technical communication=20 opportunities have enabled Angela Taylor, now a = technical=20 writer for IBM in Research Triangle Park in North = Carolina, to=20 thrive as a technical communications writing = contractor for=20 the last 16 years. A contractor is an employee that a=20 technical service agency hires to work for various = companies=20 for a specified period of time, Taylor explains. The = agency=20 matches the contractor's skills with the position that = the=20 company needs to fill. It's analogous to an actor = being hired=20 to portray a particular character on a television show = for=20 just a few months. Taylor has worked under contract = for=20 periods as short as six months. Her current contract = was=20 supposed to last for only three months, but she has = earned=20 multiple extensions that have spanned more than five = years and=20 two states.=20

What Salaries Do Technical Writers Earn?=20

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is an = individual membership organization that is dedicated = to=20 advancing the arts and sciences of technical = communication.=20 With 22,000 members worldwide, STC is the largest = organization=20 of its type.=20

The STC 1998 Technical Communicator Salary Survey = reported=20 that the average annual salary of entry-level U.S. STC = members=20 was $36,100. The average annual salary of all U.S. STC = members=20 (all levels) was $48,250. Ten percent of U.S. STC = members with=20 11 years or more of experience in technical = communication=20 earned more than $71,640 annually. See the STC web = site for=20 more salary information (http://www.stc-va.org). The = handbook=20 mentioned earlier reported that the average annual = salary for=20 technical writers and editors in the federal = government in=20 non-supervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions = was=20 about $47,440 in 1996; other writers and editors = averaged=20 about $46,590.=20

The second edition of Peter Kent's book The = Technical=20 Writer's Freelancing Guide, now titled Making Money in = Technical Writing, has this tagline on its cover: Turn = Your=20 Writing Skills Into $100,000 a Year. Kent believes = that it is=20 fairly easy for a freelance technical writer to make = $70,000 a=20 year, and he says that he has met technical writers = earning=20 $150,000 and up. See the web site for his book at=20 http://www.mcp.com/mgr/arco/techwr.=20

Taylor says she gets frequent calls from recruiters = at=20 technical service agencies. If you have the skills = that an=20 agency is looking for, Taylor says, the principles of = supply=20 and demand apply. You can almost name your own price. = Rates=20 will vary depending on where the job is located and = the level=20 of skill and experience needed. The living-on-the-edge = aspects=20 of contracting appeal to Taylor, as does the = opportunity to=20 travel and experience the various lifestyles of = different=20 parts of the country. Contracting is good for those = who like=20 something different and a challenge and don't want to = be=20 locked in, Taylor says. Also, it's a way to get an = inside look=20 at how a company operates before you take a permanent = position=20 there.=20

What Should Prospective Technical Writers = Study?=20

Since the 1950's, when the first technical = communication=20 degree programs were offered, the number of colleges = and=20 universities offering courses as well as two-year, = four-year,=20 and graduate degrees in technical communication has = been=20 increasing. Today, you can even enroll in = Internet-based=20 distance learning programs for technical = communication. The=20 increases in the number of opportunities for education = in=20 technical communication are reflected in the following = statistics. In 1974, 24% of STC members had studied = English in=20 school, 10% had studied journalism, 2.9% had studied = technical=20 communication, and 38% had studied science or = engineering. In=20 1995, 42% of STC members had studied English in = school, 10%=20 had studied journalism, 23% had studied technical=20 communication, and 19% had studied science or = engineering. As=20 you can see, a technical writing degree has never been = a=20 prerequisite to entering the technical writing = profession.=20 Also, no type of certification or licensing of = technical=20 writers is required. If you want to be a technical = writer (and=20 even if you do not), some post-high school education = is=20 strongly recommended. The majority of the respondents = to the=20 STC salary survey mentioned earlier have college=20 degrees. =20

Technical Writing? If you are pursuing a degree in = graphic=20 design, communication, journalism, language arts, or=20 English-and if you are interested in lifelong learning = about=20 science and technology-a career in technical writing = might be=20 ideal. Take elective courses in computer science, = natural=20 sciences, math, statistics, management, business=20 administration, human-computer interaction, or = engineering. In=20 some cases, if you have good writing skills, you can = obtain=20 specialized knowledge on the job. That's what the = author of=20 this article did after receiving a BS in Communication = with a=20 specialization in technical writing from Rensselaer=20 Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. When I joined a = company=20 that made blood analyzers and other equipment used in = medical=20 laboratories, I was sent to numerous in-house training = courses.=20

Science and Technology? Another option is that you = can=20 major in a scientific or technical subject area of = your choice=20 while taking elective courses in communication, = technical=20 writing, English, composition, illustration, = journalism,=20 graphic design, management, business administration, = or human=20 computer-interaction. According to the handbook = mentioned=20 earlier, some future technical writers transfer from = jobs as=20 technicians, scientists, or engineers. Others begin as = research assistants, editorial assistants, or trainees = in a=20 technical information department, and then develop = technical=20 communication skills, and then assume writing duties.=20

Tips On Finding a Technical Writing Job=20

Author Kent, whose book is mentioned earlier, says = that if=20 he was new to the profession and trying to find a = technical=20 writing job, the first thing he would do is join the = Society=20 for Technical Communication and start networking. You = will=20 meet people who hire technical writers, and people who = know=20 who is hiring technical writers and where the jobs = are, he=20 says.=20

STC has members in every state in the U.S. and in = more than=20 30 other countries. The states with the most STC = members are,=20 in descending order, California, Texas, Massachusetts, = Illinois, and Ohio. (The STC web address appears = earlier in=20 this article.) Semi-retired communications consultant = Brown=20 agrees with Kent. I've been an active member of the = society=20 for 30 years, he says. In addition to the networking = benefits,=20 STC provides leadership opportunities, and educational = programs and publications that help you increase and = enhance=20 your skills. Brown was STC's only African-American = president;=20 he served from 1988 to '89. Kent also recommends using = the=20 Internet in your job search. His book describes useful = web=20 sites, mailing lists, and newsgroups too many to list = here.=20 (See his web site address, earlier in this article.)=20

Getting work experience before graduation puts you = a step=20 ahead of other job applicants. Just as for other = positions,=20 having a technical writing co-op job or internship = while in=20 college is highly recommended. Also consider part-time = freelancing or consulting. Even if you don't get a = technical=20 writing job while in college, you should create a = portfolio of=20 your classwork to show potential employers. Include in = it your=20 best communication assignments; remember web sites and = multimedia projects. If you think your portfolio is = lacking=20 examples of the type of work you would do if you were = hired,=20 make some. You can write procedures, reports, = articles, or=20 user's guides about your hobbies or interests and = thereby=20 prove that you write well and that you can gather = information,=20 organize it in a useful structure, and present it=20 meaningfully. Your examples will also show that you = have=20 initiative and need little supervision; = characteristics=20 employers want their job applicants to have.=20

The Medium Formerly Known As Print=20

When the author of this article began her career in = 1977,=20 the vast majority of technical communication was in = printed=20 form. That has changed. For example, Apple Computer = Company=20 does not provide printed manuals with its new iMac = computer,=20 launched in August 1998.=20

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, = technical=20 communication now encompasses printed documentation = plus=20 online documentation, including help systems; = computer-based=20 instruction, including multimedia; video; and = web-based=20 publishing. Because of the recent emergence of = affordable new=20 technologies for communicating information, technical=20 communicators are more and more likely to be members = of their=20 company's product development teams. Technical = communicators=20 have a longstanding role as user advocate (that is, = customer=20 advocate); therefore, their input is sought on product = definition, methods of development, usability = activities, and=20 all types of communication and training products. = Technical=20 communicators are collaborating with other = user-oriented=20 disciplines or are managing these new roles = themselves.=20

If you want to combine an interest in science and=20 technology with writing and people skills, the dynamic = world=20 of technical communication needs you. Abundant = opportunities,=20 satisfaction, and reward await you.
=20

Deborah M. Grimstead is a technical = writer=20 for Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
in = Southeast=20 Florida. In 1998, she was the first African-American = woman=20
elected a fellow of the Society for Technical=20 Communication, the highest rank that the society can = confer=20 upon a member.

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