By Ranjan K Baruah
Writing is passion for many people and they often go for professions like writer, journalist or content writer. There are other options available for people who are interested and passionate about writing.
Like content writing, there is another area called technical writing or technical writer. Technical writing is drafting technical communication used in technical and occupational fields like computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics, finance, medical, consumer electronics, biotechnology and forestry. Technical writing encompasses the largest sub-field within technical communication.
The Society for Technical Communication defines technical communication as any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: communicating about technical or specialised topics like computer applications, medical procedures or environmental regulations; communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites; or providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is. There is no doubt that technical writing is a growing career and quite interesting for young people. The demand for technical writer is growing and there should be more growth in coming years.
There is more advantage for people who come from science background to be a successful technical writer as they can understand scientific terms easily. However, students from other stream may also come and become technical writer provided they have the basic understanding and idea.
The job sketch of a technical writer is to organise instruction or operating manuals and other similar documents. These documents could be for internal use or for industrial customers or general customers. There are opportunities to work with technical organisations or commercial organisation and also with different manufacturers of technical products.
Generally, individuals with journalism are preferred and if someone has a degree in a science subject with journalism then the scope is more for such individuals. Technical writers write instruction manuals and other documents in a way that will communicate multifaceted, technical information in nontechnical words.
They also build up, collect and communicate technical information among customers, designers, production workers, and manufacturers. In simple they can be also called as technical communicator as they make things easy for readers.
One must know that for companies specialising in technology like Adobe, Oracle, and similar brands, a technical writer is must. They are also must for IT companies or programming industries. In order to make a mark as a technical writer, one needs to have a thorough knowledge of a number of job-specific software.
All those who want to be in this profession must have good writing skills which one may start when they are in campus. For learning more on effective writing or to be a good communicator through writing one may use different digital platforms. There are few online free courses available to enhance one’s own performance. Salary varies from entry level writers to experienced writers. In India, scopes are more in metros but this can be done by being anywhere in the country for which one must have effective communication and networking skills.
There is no doubt that as new innovations are taking place in India and manufacturing industry is also booming hence it is bringing more opportunities for people who want to be technical writers. Initially one may join other companies or independent companies who are specialised on writing and later one may start his or her own enterprise. We have seen how the digital wave has changed the world of technical documentation around the world. This has created immense career opportunities for people who have passion or experience and some certifications in the field of technical writing.
(The author is a career mentor, skill trainer and motivational speaker and can be reached at [email protected] or 8473943734 for any career
related queries)