“Chase your passion, not your pension.”
Denis Waitley
For many aspiring or wannabe technical writers, technical writing is the stepping stone to turn their dreams into reality. After all, technical writing pays and pays good technical writers well.
You are on the right track if you want to get started in technical writing or wish to transition to technical writing. There are a lot of opportunities to grow or build a career in technical writing. But, the key thing is – if you like technology and writing, technical writing is the field that you want to be.
On the other hand, if you enjoy only writing and that is the only reason you wish to explore the technology sector, you should reconsider your decision.
Before you spend a lot of time, money, and energy becoming the ideal technical writer, ask yourself the following five questions:
#1. Will technical writing make me happy?
If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, you are wasting your time. If you choose a career that demands a lot from your life and gives little in return then that is the path you want to avoid.
With regard to technical writing, there are some who are happy learning technology and get energized writing user manuals, data sheets, and so on, while there are others who find exercising their imagination and writing verse feeds their soul.
Decide which side of the fence you are – what makes you happy?
If you find it absorbing to engage the left-side of your brain doing the technical part, while the right-side of the brain is free to pursue the creative side of writing – then technical writing is what you must pursue.
Some find sitting at the computer all day very dull and draining. Some feel technical writing is dry and unimaginative.
While there are others who enjoy solving problems, and put their creativity to test. They enjoy creating quality content. They feel a sense of accomplishment when their users accomplish a task or do it independently.
#2. What skills do I need to become a technical writer?
Any good technical writer worth his words will tell you that it’s not enough to just have a way with words.
Good technical writers must possess a multitude of specific skills that will set them apart from other technical writers. Gathering information, researching, interviewing, learning, structuring information, knowledge of authoring tools, creativity, writing, illustrating, programming, and the list goes on.
And, you thought it is just writing….right?
So, the question to explore is – what skills make a good technical writer? Do you have any of those skills? Which skills would you like to acquire? How much time, energy and money are you willing to invest?
All these are important questions to consider and answer before you make the decision to leap into technical writing.
#3. How would I want to spend my time at work?
Technical writers do multiple things and work on a wide variety of projects.
On a typical day, they may be reading documents to understand a concept or technology, exploring the Internet for information, researching a topic, meeting with engineers or experts, creating or editing content, creating videos, designing or updating Web pages, developing presentations, creating and/or editing articles, brochures, or a marketing copy and so on.
Most of these activities are accomplished through hours of meeting with different stakeholders, including: engineers, subject-matter experts, quality assurance members, marketing staff and others. The real time spent writing could be around 40% or lesser.
So, if you think you have to spend your time at the computer only fixing grammar or embellishing words, you may be frustrated.
If you enjoy technology and writing, and want to make a lot of money, then technical writing will make your day.
#4. How would you describe yourself?
Awareness of self is essential before you decide to make any career change.
It is important to assess your strengths, weaknesses, working style, attitude, and so on.
Self-motivated, flexible, adaptable individuals with an ability to understand complex concepts, simplify, and explain in a clear and concise manner make good technical writers.
If you are lazy, don’t become a technical writer
Technical writing requires a lot of patience, dedication, ability to adapt to dynamic circumstances, work under pressure, attention to detail and so on. It can be very demanding and time-consuming. You have to be constantly learning and keeping yourself updated.
If you are writing for software or new products, at times – everything may change including the product name, specifications, functions, features, and so on. The change may not be just once, it may be multiple times between revisions.
You need to learn to keep pace with these changes. You may have created a 20,000 words manual burning the midnight oil, but you may have to scrap it, due to the changes. You will have to spend days and nights recreating the manual to ship the product on time.
#5 How much energy do I want to invest?
Technical writing is a hot field. There is a lot of work. You get to learn and work on cutting-edge technologies. The pay is good. So, if you want to make a lot of money, enjoy learning, and don’t mind the grind, technical writing is a great place to be.
There are disadvantages too. You will have to put in a concentrated effort, energy, time, and money to acquire knowledge and skills to get a high-paying job. If you are already doing a lot of fiction writing or aim to become one of the best-selling fiction authors, don’t become a technical writer.
Final Verdict
Consider the above questions before you make a decision.
Now, you can evaluate whether technical writing will go well with your long-term goals.
If yes, you are in for the magical ride of your life. You can turn your dream of a technical writing career into a reality.
If you feel that technical writing is not the magical path to fame and fortune that you thought it would be, it is good you realized it early.
To conclude, it is important that you do your homework, explore, understand, and take a well-informed decision, just like a good technical writer always does.
“To be momentous, create content with purpose.”
Russell Sparkman
