The lowdown
In today’s volatile business world, organisations are becoming extremely conscious of the messages they send out to customers. Smart and effective communication has become necessary for any product and service offered to today’s customer by profit-conscious organisations. And this has contributed to the prominence of the profession of technical writing. A technical writer transforms technical information into a simple and lucid message so that the users can comprehend the information and eventually use the product or the service it refers to. The profession has evolved fast in recent years. Earlier, a technical writer was a shared resource across multiple teams or departments and was given tasks like last-minute spelling checks. However, today, he/she is an integral part of every communication-intensive activity within an organisation. The work involves product documentation (like putting together user guides and online help files, administrator guides, data sheets, release notes, etc). The writer has to author, publish and manage all project-specific deliverables (like analyses documents, design documents, training documents, etc). A technical writer can also be engaged in another critical area like sales and marketing where he/she has to author, design and publish business proposals, case studies, white papers, and other client-facing collaterals.
Clockwork
The documentation process may take two-six months, depending on size of the document and complexity of the content. Technical writers have to work on various documents at various stages of documentation cycle simultaneously. An average day of a technical writer could be something like this:
6.30am: Reach office
10am: Check all the documentation issues recorded in an issue tracker
10.30am: Discussions with programmers or quality team, depending on the relevance of the issue
11.30am: Prepare the draft information on the authoring tool
1.30pm: Lunch
2.30pm: Get content reviewed and published
3.30pm: Attend meetings and training sessions
6pm: Leave for home
The payoff
Remuneration varies across industry and is quite competitive with other professions. A professional with less than a year’s experience can earn Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 18,000 a month. A writer with five-nine years of experience can easily earn more than Rs. 7 lakhs per annum. Writing managers earn close to Rs. 20 lakhs per annum
Skills/TRAITS
* Strong verbal and written communication skills, a penchant for writing, an eye for detail
* Basic to expert level language editing skills
* Formatting and designing skills
* Knowledge of authoring and design software like Lotus Symphony, MS Office, Adobe Technical Communication Suite, etc and content management tools such as FileNet, Author IT, Documentum, etc
* Programming language skills like C, C++, Java will also help. Certain job roles will require knowledge of specific applications and tools like Databases, ERP, CAD, etc in the IT industry
* Ability to work in a team, stick to deadlines, take ownership
* Knowledge of the industry domain
Skills/TRAITS
* Strong verbal and written communication skills, a penchant for writing, an eye for detail
* Basic to expert level language editing skills
* Formatting and designing skills
* Knowledge of authoring and design software like Lotus Symphony, MS Office, Adobe Technical Communication Suite, etc and content management tools such as FileNet, Author IT, Documentum, etc
* Programming language skills like C, C++, Java will also help. Certain job roles will require knowledge of specific applications and tools like Databases, ERP, CAD, etc in the IT industry
* Ability to work in a team, stick to deadlines, take ownership
* Knowledge of the industry domain
Getting there
Unlike other professions, you do not require any specific qualification, degree or certificate — you can be a graduate in humanities, or engineering. What counts is your ability to communicate information about technology to your audience, your command over the language, and your understanding of the delivery medium. New tools and standards have come out in the market. Today, candidates with knowledge of content management tools, specific programming languages and applications are more likely to get jobs as technical writers. Many companies are not interested in spending money to train candidates. They may ask for experienced candidates or trained freshers. It is estimated that the demand is at least two times more than the supply. Thus, there is ample scope for making a successful long-term career in this field
Institutes and URLs
* Technowrites Academy, Pune;
www.technowrites.com
* University of Calicut, Thenhipalam;
www.universityofcalicut.info
* Documentation Research and Training Centre, Bangalore;
drtc.isibang.ac.in/DRTC
* British Columbia Institute of Technology, Canada;
www.bcit.ca/study/programs/6425acert
* Mount Royal University, Canada;
www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/ContinuingEducation/communications/technicalwriting/
Pros and cons
* One can diversify into advertising and journalism
* You can learn new things about different products
* Highly competitive field
* Late working hours during documentation release
Being a technical writer is about learning new technologies, being creative with tools, using various media for communication and getting paid for enjoying your job --- Makarand Pandit, managing director and CEO at Technowrites, Pune