Technical Writing

The good things about careers today is that one has lots of niche streams outside the mainstream, which are not only remunerative but challenging as well. This is great for people with skills, as it provides them a platform to do something significant instead of languishing in some mainstream career, due to a lack of choice. Technical writing is one such alternative career where many Indians are continuing to make a mark, both in India and abroad. Technical writing; as the name implies, is writing about technical supports and encompasses Written Technical Communication, Computer Writing, Documentation (both Software and Hardware). However, it is markedly different from scientific writing in that scientific writing predominantly is written by a scientist for the scientific community, whereas in technical writing, a majority of the writing originates from specialists and is targeted at lay persons. Let me explain with an example. An article on Sub-zero Super Conductor behaviour of certain alloys belongs to the genre of scientific writing, as it is meant only for the consumption of the researchers in that area and would be Greek to lay persons. A user guide that comes with a Colour Printer on the other hand, is Technical Writing as it is written by a technical writing professional for tha mass audience who purchase and use a colour printer. The next question you might ask is how do I acquire a formal qualification in technical writing. As technical writing is yet to take off in India and most educational institutes are still unaware of its existence, there is no formal programme that exists (to the knowledge of the author.) In contrast with the USA, where most Universities do have a course in Technical Communication and one can acquire either graduate or post-graduate degree in techincal communication. However do not be disheartened.

To become a technical writer, you would need three main skills - communication skills, domain knowledge plus computer literacy and word processing skills can easily be learned, given the plethora of options available for basic computer training. By domain knowledge, we mean understanding of a particular industry or segment, say banking, industry, health, medicine, pharmaceutical, etc. This is critical because you cannot write a user document for a pharmaceutical formulation without basic knowlege of the formulation. Most technical writers employed today have degree in English Literature or a Diploma in Computers. Now, if you think technical writing is just about writing, let me forewarn you. It is not. Like in most other careers, being sucessful in this field also requires the ability to consultantly learn, patience, good inter-personal skills and not to miss, good layout skills too. Before you conjure images of writing user manuals for a lifetime, technical writing in its own way provides opporutnities to write for different media and sometimes even do things like presentations. So. in addition to the staple menu of user manuals, you will also do product advertsing , pamplets, brochures, reports and inhouse publication.

Now, let us caover the most important aspect of technical writing as career - remuneration. Like in most functions, typicallyan entry level positionin technical writing fetches around Rs 5000 per month. Within a year or two, depending on your performance,this could grow to Rs 15,000. Those with more thna three to four years experience can easily command Rs20,000. In MNCs. this increases to Rs30,000 to 40,000 per month. Quite lucrative compared to many mainstream careers.

More than the remuneration, what makes this really worthwhile is scope for the professionals. In addition to the growing demand, the low numbers of professionals in Indiain this field, means a certain minimal demand . By now, if you are convinced about the suitability of tech writing as a career option, here are tips on how to enter it and various resoures where you can obtain more information.

If you are a journalist, scientist, teacher or a computer instructor, do not look any further and get set to attack with a good resume outlining your skills and a covering letter. Look around for advertisement in newspapers and computer publication, where one or two openings keep coming out. In addition, check out www.stc.org (for global openings) orwww.twin-india.com (for indian and some global opening). Make sure you have a sample of your articles/ writings handy when you go on a interviws.

If you are fresh and would like to enter, start by reading about technical writing. Once you gain a basic understanding start writing for IT and other technical publications while simultaneosly applying for the job. Or even join the many online courses on techinical writing. Details of this programmes are on the STC site at http;//www.stc.org. If they are to expensive, look out for programmes organised by the STC (society for technical communication) India chapter and TWIN - two organisations, which are promoting technical writing in India.