Simplified Technical Writing for Extraordinary Results
Whether it is the “assembly instructions” for your recent IKEA purchase or “user’s manual” in your recent Apple electronics, companies have noticed that it is easier for the user when they simply add a booklet or guide on how to use their products. It makes it easier to use, set up, maintain and discard if there is a need for that. This is where the technical writer comes in.
Quilltowers previously described technical writers to you. However, we have realised that everyone seems to regard it as one of the most complicated fields of writing when it really is one of the most direct.
First, what is technical writing? Technical writing is a professional form of communication that aims to accurately and simply convey important or complex information to a target audience. The target audience are mostly users of a product who are not interested in the technical complexity. Hence, the technical writer’s job is to understand the complexity and break it down as simply as possible. This is often done by chunking information for easy digestion.
Examples of Technical Writing
- Technical Blog Posts: Most contemporary technology companies have company sites where they share how to fix their products or share more information on the products with their customers. These posts are usually written by technical writers. They break the complex information into simple terms, spare you the headache and fix customers’ problems. Another group of blog post technical writers are freelancers who update tips on how to use these products on their blogs to ease their readers’ problems. This can be you.
- User manuals: The guides on how to operate phones, tablets, medical equipment, laptops, freezers, etc are written by technical writers. User manuals generally explain how to operate the appliance, its maintenance and its weaknesses.
- Engineering and Manufacturing Equipment Guide: Despite being professionals at their job, engineers still need guides on how to operate and maintain machineries used in their field. The guides written by technical writers come in handy here.
- Finance and Banking: Technical writers are involved in writing reports, manuals and documents for banking employees and customers. It is how you understand the meaning of SWIFT, how your ATM works, bank policies, loan terms and other agreements with your bank. These documents are written in simple easy to understand terms in order to ensure transparency.
After learning the meaning of technical writing, have you decided to pursue a career as one? If so, you first need to get technical writing courses. Leveraging courses will help you grab the know-how of the job and equip you with the necessary skills.
There are technical writing courses that you can take on Coursera to kickstart your technical writing career. These courses are available for beginners in the trade.
There are also courses available on Udemy for interested technical writers.
Job Opportunities as Technical Writer
After graduating from your technical writing course, it is expected that you want to make money off this new skill. Technical writing jobs are present in areas such as:
- Technology and Software companies: Technical writers are always in high demand in tech companies that need writers for their products. These documents can be for their users, stakeholders or for their employees.
- Healthcare: Healthcare firms and pharmaceuticals are always in need of writers for their clinical trial reports, manuals for medical devices, patient education materials and other medical procedure guides. These documents need to be written clearly and simply for easy understanding.
- Other firms: Firms and companies in other fields may also require specialised technical writers for any purpose.
- Freelance platforms: Platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, Guru.com, Toptal or Freelancer can be used by technical writers to work freely without being beholden to any company. It gives you more independence, a remote work and a career that can become lucrative if played right.
For more information on this topic, you can consult our previous publication on this subject. If you are still confused, do not hesitate to contact us. For you, we are always here.
