How to Start Your Journey As a Technical Writer - Everything You Need To Know

What Does a Technical Writer Do?

A general description of the job would be converting complex language and high-level jargon into readable content for the average person. Technical writers might publish:

• Instruction manuals or user guides
• Technical descriptions
• Operating procedures
• Medical documentation
• Staff training materials

These types of publications naturally have a clear and direct style with a neutral tone. They typically feature an active voice the most and are careful with word choice to avoid giving users complicated jargon to work with. People who work in this field are always looking for ways to make their writing style professional and accessible to the general public.

But the work doesn’t end at just writing. Many technical writing professionals also help design and outline the documentation by doing research for a particular target audience, and determining how to present the information most effectively. They might work on graphs and charts to make the publication more readable to that end. Check out our previous blog post on what should high-quality technical writing include for a few key concepts on writing documents with clarity and simplicity.

Technical writers might aim to convey the findings of a complicated research study, for instance through effective writing skills. Or one might be tasked to write an assembly instructions manual to teach customers how to assemble a lamp correctly. There are many ways you can use a technical writing certification, and some professionals even work in a variety of industries doing all types of work, from business consulting to academia to other fields like medical communication, energy, health, and many others.

How Do You Become a Technical Writer?

Writers naturally need skills in written communication, document formatting, and data analysis. But if you want to be taken seriously in the industry and accelerate your technical writing career, consider these major steps:

Work on a Bachelor’s Degree

Peruse the job listings for technical writer positions and you will see that a Bachelor’s Degree is a common prerequisite. Studying topics like journalism, communications, and scientific writing can all boost your chances significantly. You should also take the opportunity to cover the specialized field you intend to work in, such as engineering or medicine.

Get Certified

A technical writer certification is another major stepping stone to consider. Many service providers offer professional training courses tailored to a specific field of technical writing. If you’re thinking about working in a high-skill market like the medical field, definitely put certification high up on your priority list.

Of course, your choice of a training program matters when it comes to receiving high-quality certificates that will impress employers. We’ll talk more about certification and where to find it later.

Study Your Industry of Choice

If you’re interested in writing for finance, study recent economic trends. If you’re joining computer science, look into new developments in cybersecurity or other technologies. The idea is to build up your knowledge of your industry of choice, which will inevitably help in your writing projects.

Tying into the previous point, a certification program will likely offer resources for studying recent news and research in the specific field.

Build Up a Portfolio

Everyone starts off small. Consider doing smaller writing projects in more general fields first, and collect multiple writing samples in your portfolio, including technical writing examples. You will have a chance to gain hands-on experience, improve your technical writing process, and show potential employers your writing skills in a way that can’t be expressed on a single page of a resume.

Start Networking

No one will deny that connections matter. Technical writers should not forget to build up a professional network by attending industry events and building up a list of contacts. You might receive opportunities to work on certain passion projects from your efforts.

Is a Technical Writing Certificate Worth It?

Certification, while technically not mandatory, does go a long way to showing potential employers that you can synthesize complex information and transform it into a readable format, and a technical writer job. Getting a technical writing certificate shows off your dedication and knowledge in the field, and it’s actually not too difficult nowadays to find one.

Especially in high-stakes industries like medicine and pharmaceuticals, companies want to make sure that the technical writers they hire have the necessary skills and knowledge of medical terminology, and are truly ready for the job. To that end, look only to the best technical writing certification programs available.

Look no further than CfPIE for receiving your technical writing certification online. Browse our extensive course outline to find the right technical writing course for Pharma, Biotech and Medical Devices.  We offer some of the most qualified instructors available in medical training. Not only do they have deep experience in the industry, but they know the best practices for adult learning to ensure your success. Let’s talk about how you can boost your writing career in the pharmaceutical industry.