Careers in Technical Writing

Contrary to what many people assume, work as a technical writer involves much more than sitting alone at your PC. The job requires plenty of contact with technical professionals, from programmers to project managers, to write and design documentation for software. Solitary? Not quite. Collaborative? Most definitely.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2001). Careers>Writing

A Failure to Communicate

How do you get a group of socially withdrawn, uncommunicative techies' attention? Speaking expert Anne Warfield of Impression Management, often asks them to think of the last 20 people in their company who got promoted and assess whether they were the most technically qualified. 'Almost all of them will say they were not,' says Warfield. To get ahead these days, techies need a good mix of technical and communication skills. From PC support specialists to C++ coders, techies are infamous for their lack of communication skills -- and that's a polite way of putting it. Nontechies often think of technical folk as jargon-crazed, gadget-obsessed and not particularly interested in people. An extreme characterization? Yes. Unfair? Maybe. A stereotype? Sure it is, but techies have a well-deserved reputation for placing a priority on skills -- knowledge of XML, say, or Windows device drivers -- rather than personal relationships or being able to communicate what they know to others.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2002). Careers>TC

A Guide to Careers in Technical Writing

Contrary to what many assume, working as a technical writer involves much more than sitting alone at your PC. The job requires plenty of contact with technical professionals, from programmers and project managers to machine operators and medical technicians. Solitary? Not quite. Collaborative? Most definitely.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2007). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

Know Thy Recruiter

Techies often work with recruiters, but do they understand the recruiting business? Not usually, and that's too bad. To work effectively with recruiters, it helps to have more than passing knowledge of the recruiting business. Stan Dlugozima, managing partner of InPlace Technical Resources in New York, says technology professionals should know from the start how the business functions. To put it bluntly, companies pay Dlugozima to find individuals they want to hire. 'The company is my boss,' says Dlugozima. 'My job is to find a person who my client wants to hire.' Like techies, recruiting and staffing firms come in different flavors, typically divided into firms seeking workers for contract jobs or those trying to fill permanent positions.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2002). Careers>TC

Tech Career Snapshots: CIO to Help Desk

Perhaps the first step in applying for a job is understanding the position itself. In the information technology field, that's a more complicated task than you might expect, as technology job titles are constantly in flux (like the technology itself). Even the hodgepodge of 'standard' titles requires some explanation beyond what's offered in job descriptions. For those new to the industry, this is especially confusing. You're thinking about entering the IT world, and suddenly you're confronted with names of positions you never even knew existed. A $60,000 salary for a quality assurance engineer? Not bad, but what is QA? Is this a position you aspire to? You'll never know, unless you know what a person in that position actually does.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2002). Careers>TC

Tech Resource: STC (The Society for Technical Communication)

Professional organizations often help define the professions they serve: Such is the case with the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Founded in 1953 as an organization for technical writers and editors, the STC is now an umbrella group for 25,000 professionals whose job roles include documentation specialists, visual designers, information architects, interactive designers and others who work with technical information. Their output includes technical manuals and now extends into charts, brochures, online tutorials, annual reports, Web-based training and other materials. With technical communication an increasingly diverse field, STC aims to broaden its membership with professionals from a variety of occupations.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2004). Careers>TC>History>STC

Web Expertise: Taking Your Knowledge to the Next Level

If your field is Web development, you've probably realized that it's not enough to know just one or two Web-related technologies. You know Java and XML? Fair enough, but to excel -- and market yourself as a true Web pro -- you've got to know a constellation of Web technologies. This is the Five-Acronym Rule: You've got to know at least five acronyms, and know them inside out, to advance in the field. So if you only know HTML and JavaScript, you're no Web pro. But if you know Java, COM, WAP, LDAP and SQL, you'll have a much easier time moving up.

Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2003). Careers>Education>Web Design