Technical Writers

Summary

Technical writers communicate technical information through charts and manuals.

Quick Facts: Technical Writers
2010 Median Pay	$63,280 per year $30.42 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Bachelor’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	1 to 5 years
On-the-job Training	Short-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	49,500
Job Outlook, 2010-20	17% (About as fast as average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	8,500

What Technical Writers Do

Technical writers, also called technical communicators, produce instruction manuals and other supporting documents to communicate complex and technical information more easily. They also develop, gather, and disseminate technical information among customers, designers, and manufacturers.

Work Environment

Most technical writers work full time in offices. Although technical writers work in a variety of industries, they are concentrated in the computer and engineering industries.

How to Become a Technical Writer

A college degree is usually required for a position as a technical writer. In addition, experience with a technical subject, such as computer science, Web design, or engineering, is important.

Pay

The median annual wage of technical writers was $63,280 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of technical writers is expected to grow 17 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job opportunities, especially for applicants with technical skills, are expected to be good.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of technical writers with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about technical writers by contacting these additional resources.

What Technical Writers Do About this section

Technical writers often create diagrams in order to show users how a product works.

Technical writers, also called technical communicators, produce instruction manuals and other supporting documents to communicate complex and technical information more easily. They also develop, gather, and disseminate technical information among customers, designers, and manufacturers.

Duties

Technical writers typically do the following:

• Determine the needs of end users of technical documentation
• Study product samples and talk with product designers and developers
• Work with technical staff to make products easier to use, and thus need fewer instructions
• Organize and write supporting documents for products
• Select photographs, drawings, diagrams, and charts that increase users’ understanding
• Get usability feedback from customers, designers, and manufacturers
• Revise documents as new issues arise

Technical writers create operating instructions, how-to manuals, assembly instructions, and “frequently asked questions” pages to help technical support staff, consumers, and other users within a company or an industry. After a product is released, technical writers also may work with product liability specialists and customer service managers to improve the end-user experience through product design changes.

Technical writers often work with engineers, scientists, computer specialists, and software developers to manage the flow of information among project workgroups during development and testing. Therefore, technical writers must be able to understand complex information and communicate the information to people with diverse professional backgrounds.

Applying their knowledge of the user of the product, technical writers may serve as part of a team conducting usability studies to help improve the design of a product that is in the prototype stage. Technical writers may conduct research on their topics through personal observation, library and Internet research, and discussions with technical specialists.

Increasingly, technical information is being delivered online, and technical writers are using the interactive technologies of the Web to blend text, graphics, multidimensional images, sound, and video.

Work Environment About this section

Technical writers usually work full time in offices.

Technical writers held about 49,500 jobs in 2010. The following industries employed the most technical writers in 2010:

Most technical writers work in offices. They routinely work with engineers and other technology professionals to manage the flow of information throughout an organization. Although most technical writers are employed directly by the companies that use their services, some work on a freelance basis and get paid per assignment. Either they are self-employed, or they work for a technical consulting firm and are given specific short-term or recurring assignments, such as writing about a new product or coordinating the work and communication among different offices to keep a project on track. Technical writing jobs are usually concentrated in locations with information technology or scientific and technical research companies, such as California and Texas.

Work Schedules

Technical writers may be expected to work evenings and weekends to coordinate with those in other time zones or to meet deadlines. Most work full time.

How to Become a Technical Writer About this section

Some technical writers work on a freelance basis.

A college degree is usually required for a position as a technical writer. In addition, experience with a technical subject, such as computer science, Web design, or engineering, is important.

Education

Employers generally prefer candidates with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, English, or communications. Many technical writing jobs require both a degree and knowledge in a specialized field, such as engineering, computer science, or medicine. Web design experience also is helpful because of the growing use of online technical documentation.

Work Experience

Some technical writers begin their careers not as writers, but as specialists or research assistants in a technical field. By developing technical communication skills, they eventually assume primary responsibilities for technical writing. In small firms, beginning technical writers may work on projects right away; in larger companies with more standard procedures, beginners may observe experienced technical writers and interact with specialists before being assigned projects.

Prospects for advancement generally include working on more complex projects, leading or training junior staff, and getting enough work to succeed as a freelancer.

Training

Many technical writers need short-term on-the-job training to adapt to a different style of writing.

Important Qualities

Communication skills. Technical writers must be able to take complex, technical information and translate it for colleagues and consumers who have nontechnical backgrounds.

Detail oriented. Technical writers create detailed instructions for others to follow. As a result, they must be detailed and precise at every step for the instructions to be useful.

Imagination. Technical writers must be able to think about a procedure or product in the way that a person without technical experience would think about it.

Teamwork. Technical writers must be able to work well with others. They are almost always part of a team: with other writers; with designers, editors, and illustrators; and with the technical people whose information they are explaining.

Technical skills. Technical writers must be able to understand and then explain highly technical information. Many technical writers need a background in engineering or computer science in order to do this.

Writing skills. Technical communicators must have excellent writing skills to be able to explain technical information clearly.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of technical writers was $63,280 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,160, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,910.

Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of technical writers in May 2010 were:

Technical writers may be expected to work evenings and weekends to coordinate with those in other time zones or to meet deadlines. Most work full time.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of technical writers is expected to grow 17 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth will be driven by the continuing expansion of scientific and technical products and by growth in Web-based product support. Growth and change in the high-technology and electronics industries will result in a greater need for those who can write instruction manuals and communicate information clearly to users.

Professional, scientific, and technical services firms will continue to grow rapidly and should be a good source of new jobs even as the occupation finds acceptance in a broader range of industries, including data processing, hosting, and related services.

Job Prospects

Job opportunities, especially for applicants with technical skills, are expected to be good. The growing reliance on technologically sophisticated products in the home and the workplace and the increasing complexity of medical and scientific information needed for daily living will create many new job opportunities for technical writers. In addition to job openings stemming from employment growth, some openings will arise as experienced workers retire, transfer to other occupations, or leave the labor force. However, there will be competition among freelance technical writers.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about technical writers, visit

Society for Technical Communication