How Did You Break into Technical Writing Changing Criteria News & Views Feature Article

By Mike Sharp Mike Sharp is president of STC-PMC and has served various other positions through his years with the chapter. Originally published in News & Views March 1999 issue. Copyright 1999 STC-Philadelphia Metro Chapter. For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.

How did you break into technical writing? Every now and then someone in our chapter leadership group gets some form of this question. Of course, almost all of us who are older have "broken" or "slid" or "sidled" into technical writing because there was little academic preparation available then. People often got these jobs because they had skills or experience close to those needed for technical writing. Today, many universities offer either a degree in technical communication or a specialty within the English major. Still, there are plenty of ways you can get a job as a technical writer without going to school to get a degree in it. When I started work on this article, I found some people in the chapter-older and younger-who had gotten technical writing jobs even though their experience or academic preparation was in other areas. Here are their stories. From public relations... Jason Langkamer-Smith worked as a media and community relations writer for a non-profit agency when he was laid off. He collected unemployment, worked some temporary jobs, and began to research other careers in communications. While working at Lehigh University as a clerk (male secretary), he discovered their career placement office. A career profile test on their computer suggested that technical writing would be a good match for his skills. He agreed and rewrote his resume to reflect his computer skills, along with his writing experience in public relations and marketing. Jason got lucky when he answered an ad for "customer service clerk." The agency representative saw a better match for him as an interim technical writer to fill in for a woman going on maternity leave. This break gave him the opportunity to revise two manuals in the three-month assignment. More important, Jason could now add the term "technical writer" to his resume. Since then, he has found it easy to move on to better jobs in technical communication. Luck played an important part in Jason's "break," as it does in so many cases of people moving to better jobs. Still, it was not the only factor. Jason had done some important legwork, which helped him to take advantage of the break when it came. Form and work a network As part of his career research, Jason read the latest version of What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles. Bolles suggests that job seekers should contact many people to talk about what they do well and what kind of work they want, rather than ask just a few people directly for a job. Jason contacted every placement agency in his area and kept a notebook full of employment ads from the local newspaper. Ultimately, it was answering one of these ads that led to his first technical writing job. Making many contacts put Jason in a position to take advantage of his "lucky break." Display your strengths While at Lehigh, Jason was surfing the web when he found the STC web site. He downloaded and printed out many job listings to identify computer skills that are in demand. He had some, but needed others. So on his resume, Jason made a space for computer skills, listed what he had, and listed those he didn't have as "Actively Seeking to Develop." From operations research... Deb Grayshaw got her education in Operations Research (OR) and worked for a consulting firm as an OR analyst when the client company closed their OR department. So her firm trained her in COBOL and assigned her to several projects. They got a contract from IBM, and Deb was put on the writing team because she had shown skill with grammar and demonstrated that she could "pretty much do whatever she was given." However, her firm later lost that contract and laid her off. Another consulting company in her area had a group that did technical documentation and hired Deb promptly, since now she had experience on her resume as a "technical writer for IBM." The week of training in the IBM documentation style helped her to pass the writing and editing test at the new firm. Leverage your experience Deb thinks that luck also played an important role in her move into technical writing. Still, she acknowledges that her track record of jumping into projects and getting results helped her. Beyond her demonstrated ability, it is apparent that having the experience as a "technical writer at IBM" helped her tremendously in getting the job as a technical writer at her current firm. Jason also acknowledges the power of being able to list "technical writer" as a former job. This observation probably parallels the experience of many experienced technical writers. So whatever you can do to be able to add those two words to your resume would seem to be a good idea. If nothing else, you could create your own example by writing a procedure for addressing and mailing a letter, installing and configuring software, or traveling from one place to another. Use local resources as a springboard Deb took a one-week course on a corporate documentation style, which subsequently helped her pass a writing and editing course. Jason took advantage of web access and the university's career placement office to help set his direction towards technical writing. Chris Mills took a course in technical communication at a nearby community college. Her student status gained her access to the college's placement office, which had a writing job listed for a non-profit organization. Although she wrote the brochure pro bono, she was able to list it on her resume. It also gave her a start on a portfolio that led to her getting offers for other jobs she could bill. Sometimes, the best local resources are within yourself-you just need to learn to pay attention to them. Sometimes the resources are right where you are. Jeff Murphy took the first job he could find on graduating from college with a degree in Arts and Sciences, then used his spare time to look for a spot more to his liking. He found work as a printing production assistant for a large corporation. Later, Jeff had a chance to show his writing talent and was subsequently promoted to work as a writer. His company paid for him to take some courses in technical communication and rhetoric from a local university. Sean Fitzpatrick had a chance to take a course on technical writing offered by a member of his local STC chapter. All of these people took advantage of resources that were immediately available to them wherever they were. From materials engineering... Rebecca Tuszynski had degrees in chemistry and materials engineering and was following a traditional engineering career path. Often, people would comment that she didn't write like an engineer. Although it took some years for her finally to recognize the meaning of these comments, she eventually quit her job with a steel company and began a career as a freelance technical writer. She now finds that all the engineering education and experience equip her well to talk processes and technology with engineers. Just as Becky found her past training and experience as an engineer to be a resource, you might discover in your own experience or interests a seed that propels you into technical communication. Technical writing on the web Other resources can crop up in surprising places. The World Wide Web is a rich source of material for aspiring technical writers. You could just go to one of the search engines, enter "technical communication," and see what turns up. For example, my search on The Mining Co. (www.miningco.com) for "technical communication" turned up 43 items that included pages for: Aspiring and beginning tech writers Education links (get online instruction in technical writing) Technical communication on intranets and the Internet Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about technical writing Translation and internationalization Web design Language usage, grammar, and style Books on technical writing (with links to Amazon.com) Technical writing job postings USENET news groups for technical writers Finally, good luck to you! Technical writers are in such high demand today that it has become easier for people who lack specific technical communication experience to find jobs. Still, it takes persistence and some strategizing to enhance your chances. The stories of these six STC-PMC members show how they used these tactics. Form and work a network -- use all resources available to you to create a large network of contacts. (Contacts can come from advertisements, colleagues and associates, directory listings, and referrals.) Display your strengths -- learn what skills and experience are in demand for the kind of work you seek, then arrange your resume and portfolio to highlight what you have. Leverage your experience -- do whatever you can to be able to add the words "technical communication" to your resume. Volunteer for relevant assignments. Do projects pro bono. Create your own examples. Use local resources as a springboard -- take advantage of any training courses, learning materials, or other resources available to you. Explore the web. Reexamine your assumptions to search for fresh points of view. As hinted earlier, luck still plays an enormous role in any job-hunting endeavor. But, you need not be held prisoner to luck's whimsy. Instead, you can use the tactics described here along with others to help position yourself to take advantage of the lucky break when it comes.

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Last updated: April 27, 1999 (dls)