Technical Writing – As a Career
Technical writing, a form of technical communication, is a style
of formal writing and is used in fields as diverse as computer hardware and
software, aerospace industry, robotics, finance, consumer electronics and
biotechnology. Technological Writers explain complex ideas to the technical and
nontechnical audiences.
Technical Writers often write for
readers who know less than they do about their subject, and they try to inform
the readers about it rather than show how much they know.
In some organizations Technical
Writers may be called Information Developers, Documentation Specialists,
Documentation Engineers or Technical Content Developers.
Technical Writers are more
successful when they try to impress their readers with how clearly and simply
they can present information the readers need. A good Technical Writer needs
strong language skills and must understand the highly evolved conventions of
modern technical communications.
Quality of a good Technical
Writer:
Good Technical Writers in
high-tech firms ask two questions about their readers:
i. How much do
they know about my subject?
ii. How
interested will they be in reading what I have written?
Readers will know a little about
the subject, a lot, or something in between. Readers may be uninterested, very
interested or somewhere in between, but to keep the readers interest, the
technical writer must feel the readers’ response ‘and control the tone and
content of the subject.
Prospects of Technical
Writers:
Thousands of business and trade
magazines and papers are published by industries and publishing firms to keep
readers informed about special fields. Industrial publications are often written
and edited by Technical Writers. Newspapers, news magazines and wire services
employ Technical Writers. Professional journals covering automobile industries,
engineer-ing, computers, medicine, law, chemistry, biotechnology, etc. use
Technical Writers to report professional trends and to work as
editors.
Many Technical Writers work as
freelance writers. They are paid by the job or by the hour. Sometimes they are
hired to do specific jobs such as writing about a new high-tech product or
advancement. Some Technical Writers start out as Research Assistants or as
trainees in a Technical Information Department and then are promoted as
Technical Writers.
A Technical Writer has no true
career levels, but can move up into management of other writers. He could grow
into a Senior Technical Writer position, handling complex projects or a small
team of writers and editors. His next rise could be a Documentation Manager
handling multiple projects and teams.
Technical Writers in high-tech
firms are encouraged to state their subject, audience and purpose at the
beginning of a document unless the purpose is to persuade the readers to
understand the product.
Technical Writers in high-tech
firms must be able to write as quickly as possible, and must be able to switch
from one writing task to another. Requirements for documents sometimes arise
suddenly, and often there is little time between the first notice of a
requirement and the deadline for the document.
Technical Writers may also have
additional planning duties, including contributing to the documents’ design,
writing or reviewing the document outline for content coverage, logical
organization, and providing guidelines for the writers and editors. Writing and
editing guidelines help ensure consistency in formats, acronyms and
abbreviations, and technical details, to cut editing time.
In high-tech firms Technical
Writers have two type of audiences i.e. a Primary and a
Secondary.
A document written for readers
outside the firm will be reviewed by the writer’s supervisor and other company
staff before it is revised, put into production, and released to the outside
audience. These reviewers are a Secondary audience. The outside readers (the
related customers) are the Primary audience.
When Technical Writers have two
audiences, they must satisfy their Secondary audience with the document while
they try to make it communicate effectively with the Primary audience. Usually,
the Secondary audience is familiar with the Primary and can provide effective
review.
Technical Writers often recommend
usage guidelines or strict observance of the company style manual to his Senior
who decides which standard to follow in the document. The longer a document the
more important it is for the Technical Writer to coordinate activities with
publication staff, letting them know how much work is coming, when it will be
submitted, and when it is needed. Accordingly he has to plan and schedule his
work.
Technical Writers are expected to
be strong in all steps of the writing process. They are expected to emphasis the
product and not the processes. The final document (write-up) is much more
important in high-tech firms then other professional
settings.
Personal Skills of a Technical
Writer:
A Technical Writer must possess
very good skills in writing good English. He must have good research and
communication skill to gather information about the product using many media
like- Internet, books, and sometimes to interview the experts in the field,
design skills and multimedia presentation.
A Technical Writer should be
familiar with the specified subject area apart from technically skilled or
trained.
Challenges before the Technical
Writers:
In companies that do not produce
written or on-line documents for sale, Technical Writers often have to justify
their positions by demonstrating that their work has increased the marketability
of the firm’s goods or services. Technical Writers are the image builders of the
company and are an essential aid to augment its profits. They must keep
themselves up-dated with new technical developments in their fields. He must
up-date his skills daily by collaborating with educated, intelligent people who
value their services. As technology develops, the material technical writers
work with changes constantly. The variety makes their work more interesting and
challenging and the new materials educate them.
Eligibility for Technical
Writers:
There is no requirement of a
formal education in the field of Technical Writers. Any Degree with a Post
Graduation degree or diploma preferably in Journalism and Mass Communication,
knowledge of good English language and IT skills are desirable for a Technical
Writer. Computer literacy and knowledge of software application, Microsoft word,
page maker, frame maker, rob help and front page, etc. are some of the important
skills a Technical Writer must possess.
Jobs Description of a Technical
Writer are:
l To Prepare
catalogues, user manuals and guides, technical help books, engineering reports
and online help documents.
l
To
Communicate with actual developers of products.
l
To Work
closely with engineers, scientists, pharmaceutical firms and
accountants.
Jobs available for a Technical
Writer:
At various firms such as
advertising agencies, software developing companies, and in newspapers and
magazines, Technical Writers are in demand. The highest demand for Technical
Writers is generated by the IT industries. Freelancers can also take up work on
contract basis from the companies.
Companies like Infosys
Technologies Ltd, Sun Microsystems, Infotech, often appoint Technical Writers
for their companies.
Institutes/Universities offering
Courses for Technical
Writing:
Though the Technical Writing
field in
Some of the
Institutes/Universities offering courses in Technical Writing :
i.
ii. Documentation
Research and Training Centre ( D.R.T.C.)
iii. Xaviers
Institute of Communi-cation, Mumbai.
iv. Post Graduate
Diploma in Technical Communication (PGDTC),
v. And many private institutes also offer courses related to the field.
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