Reader response: “If I wanted to, say, break into tech writing, how would I do that?”

This was originally published in March 2012, in response to a question asked (by: mrenzulli) of me on Tumblr. The advice still holds up quite well I think.

Well, it all depends (like most things in life). It’s not any more or less difficult than finding other jobs, but answers to these questions will help you find a niche to target or skills to develop to increase your chances of landing a gig as a Tech Writer.

• Do you have any kind of technical expertise? It’s not necessary, but it really helps to have some kind of personal reference for highly technical subjects. And if you already have technical expertise in a specific field, switching to tech writing within that industry can be seamless. Again, not necessary, but definitely helps a bunch.
• Do you already have solid writing/editing skills? A straight-forward question. Usually if the answer to this question is “no, not really,” then your journey will be more uphill, but still not impossible.
• Do you communicate complex ideas well? Basically, can you explain things well, in person or in writing? If you find yourself explaining things to people just because you understand it (not because you necessarily enjoy it), that would be a great start. If not, well, you might be considering the wrong career move.
• Where do you live? Certain parts of the country tend to hire more technical writers than others. For instance, there is no better place in the world to find a tech writing gig than Washington, DC. take a look at The Washington Post’s Job Boards, you’ll see what I mean; it averages like 20 new technical writing jobs a day. But, almost none of them are telecommuting, so if you’re not in that area, it doesn’t do much good for you.
  There are still plenty of tech writing gigs that are telecommuting, and some companies list positions that are very similar to technical writing jobs but are not specifically labeled as such.

Originally published at techwriterninja.tumblr.com.

Currently, John A. Paz is a Sr. Technical Writer at Atlassian. He boasts ten years of professional experience as a Technical Writer, in a variety of industries, both as a contractor and regular full-time employee.

Leave a comment asking any kind of Tech Writing-related questions and I’d be happy to help find some answers.