Technical Writers in the Industry? 93
kungfooswade asks: "I am getting ready to graduate soon with my CS degree but I want to hedge my bets on finding a job and will be starting a masters degree, as soon as I am done. I am considering a masters in professional writing, so I can be qualified for technical writing positions, or just going back for a masters in CS. I am curious about the following: (1) what are the general opinions of programmers on technical writers; (2) is there someone out there who has first-hand experience in technical writing who can tell me about the work and their experiences; (3) what software is used mainly in the process; and of course (4) what seems to be the average pay? I would like to diversify my education, so that I won't be searching very long if layoffs come around. All comments and suggestions are appreciated."
API Techcnial Writer (Score:4, Informative)
OP: My opinion (Score:4, Interesting)
Newbie programmers look down on technical writers with distain, the same distain they have for anybody that writes HTML and calls it programming.
Experienced programmers LOVE technical writers because we hate writing the documentation and are happy to have you do it for them. We will generally bring you cheesecake.
(2) is there someone out there who has first-hand experience in technical writing who can tell me about the work and their experiences;
It requires that you be able to work as a go-between the hardcore techs and the mouth breathing users - so you must be able to relate to and work in terms that either understands, at various parts of your work. Note that there isn't a lot of crossover between the two.
(3) what software is used mainly in the process;
Microsoft Word. And some application that converts Word docs into help files.
(4) what seems to be the average pay?
No clue, sorry.
Re:OP: My opinion (Score:2, Interesting)
FrameMaker versus Word (Score:2)
FrameMaker dominates a certain kind of writing because it has a lot of features you need to do that writing: conditional
Re:FrameMaker versus Word (Score:2)
Except that nobody *ever* uses them the way they are supposed to be used. Because, unless you are a technical writer and you openly assault anybody else who messes with the document without obeying the style sheet, people don't really get style sheets.
I used to take class notes using Word with a set of style sheets and keyboard macros. I could often keep up with just about eveything outside
Re:FrameMaker versus Word (Score:2)
Fortunately, Word is pretty configurable. If I were told to set up Word for use as a structured tech pubs authoring tool I'd (a) strongly recommen
Re:FrameMaker versus Word (Score:2)
The biggest problem is that you try to explain this to people and you get a blank stare. They don't care. I feel like the guy who bought a Sun instead of a PC even though he just does email and surfs the web because PCs annoy him.
Re:FrameMaker versus Word (Score:2)
Come to think of it, you've just gone and answered a question that's bothered me for a very long time: How is it that Microsoft puts so much effort into usability testing, and still manages to produce products that are so damned difficult to use? The answer is the way they use the UT results: when the users complain that it's hard to figure out what to do this task or that, it n
Re:OP: My opinion (Score:1)
Re:OP: My opinion (Score:2)
Experienced programmers LOVE technical writers because we hate writing the documentation and are happy to have you do it for them. We will generally bring you cheesecake.
I work in a company where - unfortunately - neither newbe nor experienced programmers appreciate the tech writers. Although I consider myself a fairly inexperienced programmer (5 years commercia
Re:OP: My opinion (Score:2)
Hmmm. That's exactly what I do best. Maybe my upcoming layoff may not go as badly as I anticipate. Time to do some research on alternate career paths...
software (Score:1)
Framemaker.
Or something that will handle the tasks above without lots of facilitation from a professional printer. I hate stripping out MS garbage, dare I call it a visible cruft-like substance?
Shocking (Score:2)
Re:API Techcnial Writer (Score:2)
My company is hiring a requirement analyst/writer wright now, two of them in fact.
GET AN MBA (Score:2)
Or you could just hit on the new freshman and drink beers. Either way you win!
let me jump in (Score:2)
Get a masters in CS and take professional writing courses.
That sounds like a nice basis for a serious career technical writing, I really think it will serve you better than a masters in professional writing. You will be in a great position to apply for serious positions at egghead companies that are willing to pay well.
Not enough of them (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know if companies try to make due without them, or if they are just really hard to find. All I can really say is that every company I've worked for has needed one, and none of them had them.
Re:Not enough of them (Score:1)
Re:Not enough of them (Score:2)
Not in my experience. I've always made good money as a tech writer. Maybe a little less than a programmer with similar education and/or experience, but not that much. I have seen companies that think that tech writers are glorified proofreaders ("don't try to understand it, just check my spelling and put it in the manual"), and pay them accordingly. I'd avoid working at such a company -- as much a matter of self-respect as of greed.
You're wrong! (I wish.) (Score:3, Interesting)
Damned if I know what it is. My best guess is that the industry just doesn't understand what good documentation is. Usually, the only measure of quality is completeness. If you've got an entry in the printed index or a keyword in the helpfile that covers every single
In response to your first question... (Score:1)
As a programer (Score:4, Insightful)
As a programer I've learned that you cannot write and program at the same time. Some programers are good writers, but when they are writing about their program they do a terribal job. Others (like me) are bad writters all the time. Still others can't program, or don't program, but write about code very well. Therefore I like having writers who can look over my shoulder and write something useful about my code.
There are several leveal of documentation, and most people and companies forget it. There is the "Do to X, do this, then that." Then there is the level of "This is how the program works externally", and finially there is the "This is how the program works internally"
The last is aimed at programers and in most cases isn't used outside of the company. It is also the only one you have a chance of getting a programer to write, even then the source code is often a better more readable source of information. However there is much call to take this as the programer writes it, and transform it into API documentation that other programers can use, often with the requirement that critical company ideas are not exposed to those outside the company who will read this.
The first, is a step by step how to. Click on A, drag to B, or some such sequence. If the user interface was any good, and people more willing to expitiment there would be no need for this, but most people are not comfortable figguring out computers. As a programer I have a real problem with this: I'm often required to sit though hours and hours of it to learn something I could have figgured out in 5 minutes. (often I know already, but don't skip ahead in the lession, we have to teach you how to double click before we can teach you the next step)
The other is something I rarely see, but consider most important. What is the program good for, and why do it that way. When I know that information the program is obvious, and more importantly, these manuals should be easy to read so I learn all the features. For example, I have seen plenty of examples of how to do a "mail merge", but nobody has defined what that term means, or why I would want to use it, and not knowing that I ignore all the instruction on how to do it - it may or may not be useful, and I may in fact do it.
I'm sure there is much more, but I don't know much more myself. I'm not a good writer, so I stay with things I am good at.
Re:As a programer (Score:4, Funny)
That said, I blew my chance of moderating this so I could reply.
Re:As a programer (Score:3, Insightful)
Bottom line: if you can clearly articulate what it is you're saying, you can clearly articulate what it is you want your program to do, which in turn means you'll be able to write a clear and easy to follow program. Writing well has a lot more to do with thought process than it has to do with gramma
Edger Djikstra said... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:As a programer (Score:1)
I agree.
The programmers that are also good writers appreciate clear syntax and grammar that both disciplines require.
The better programmers also appreciate that others are going to have to read their code, and they engineer programs in a sane and efficient architecture, where the code, the structure, the modules and everything is almost self documenting.
Re:As a programer (Score:2)
I didn't mean to say that good programers can't be good writers, only that they can't be both on the same piece of code. I can (if I take far more time than a good writer) write good documentation. I can write good code (faster than many other programers). However I can't write good documentation about something I've already coded.
I agree with the "write documentation first" posts that others have writen, but that doesn't cover all cases. If you have written code, perhaps with good coments, you stil
Re:As a programer (Score:1)
From my way of thinking, that amounts to 'documenting before you write the code,' which is actually pretty important for any non-trivial task.
Re:As a programer (Score:2)
if the binary/script is named change_resource, and there is no comment telling what it does, how would you find out? often the only way is to docode the code, which can be very time consuming.
As a writer (Score:4, Insightful)
Example: I once worked for a software company that was known for hiring really, really smart people. A lot of whom were very good writers -- I'm forced to admit that many of them were better than me, in the sense that they could turn out lucid, interesting prose. But they simply didn't understand the practical problems of explaining technical procedures to people.
Once, I was tasked with documenting a package that was basically a patch on another product. There was a central engine in the form of a DLL, and installing the package meant first installing the original product, then extracting the replacement DLL from a ZIP file and putting it in the correct directory so the original product could be made to load it in place of the default engine. Should have been done with an installer, of course, but for various reasons this wasn't possible.
So, I sat down and wrote a careful, nit-picky explanation of how to do all this. I carefully explained how to extract the file on the command line using info-zip (winzip didn't have its current dominance at the time, and info-zip was easy to obtain) with enough generalities so the user could adapt the procedure to another archiver.
I was not allowed to include this procedure in the release notes. The engineers felt it made the product look bad, like we didn't trust the users to figure out a more elegant explanation.
I ended up quitting that project because I just wasn't doing anything, except repackaging the prose of the engineer who grabbed my job away from me. He was actually quite a good writer -- he just didn't understand how easily written procedures can be misunderstood. As, in fact, his mostly were.
Re:As a programer (Score:3, Insightful)
Technical Writers (Score:1)
Re:Technical Writers (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Technical Writers (Score:2)
Re:Technical Writers (Score:1)
Reminds me of this from the "Troubleshooting" pages in a Hitachi hammer-drill manual:
Problem: Drill wont [sic] run.
Reason: Groceries in commutator.
Solution: Remove groceries from commutator.
Embarrasment (Score:1)
Re:Embarrasment (Score:1)
Re:Embarrasment (Score:1)
Re:Embarrasment (Score:1)
Re:Embarrasment (Score:1)
Re:Don't bother. (Score:4, Funny)
From a MS/CS and a published writer... (Score:3, Interesting)
If you're going to go for a MS and you're open to non-CS degrees, consider an MBA but don't go after a writing degree. If an MBA isn't your cup of tea, go for the MS in CS.
That said, definately work on your writing skills. This will open you up to a lot of opportunities outside of writing code including sales, marketing, management, and yes, tech writing. Of course, if you want to stick to the engineering side of the world, you'll get a lot more respect from both your peers and your management if you can effectively communicate your ideas. This means being a proficient writer as well as someone who can give a presentation.
Not comfortable with writing? You can start with some classes. I would recommend creative writing over english courses since you'll actually get a lot more practice and feedback in creative writing. If you go for the MS/CS, there is nothing stopping you from taking undergrad writing courses at the same time. Follow that up with taking on some writing projects such as some documentation for an open source package -- there are a lot of HOWTOs out there that could stand some time and attention. Not sure how you can improve them? Go back and read well-received books and try to understand what it is about them that made them so accessible. (e.g. the author took the time to explain the big picture and then followed up with a good example and explained all of the commands/parameters in detail.) Of course, don't forget that with an MS/CS, you'll need to write a masters thesis that can easily turn into a 80-100 page document. (My thesis was 128 pages!)
Best of luck...
Re:From a MS/CS and a published writer... (Score:1)
English grammar is better than writing (Score:3, Insightful)
Technical writing these days is about 30% of the time spent doing the core text writing. 30% more time devoted to revision after revision getting the wording just right in certain, highly confusing areas. The last 40% of your time will be spent on graphics. Screenshots, plots, equations, photograph touchups. You will hardly feel like you are using that masters degree for its real purpose.
If you want to learn good writing, get yourself a writing spirit and stay under the wing of someone that will be a good, honest editor of your papers for free or near free. Don't get a masters degree to do it.
If you want to study advanced CS topics (neural nets, compiler/language design, advanced DSP, etc) then go ahead and get your masters. But I hope you have a use for those skills in the real world because otherwise your masters degree will only earn you a job in management.
Technical Writing.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Remember that your time here is limited and you should find something that you really like to do. Then be the best that you can be at it. I prefer writting software and user interfaces...why? because after all these years I find that I like helping people to use computers easily. I didn't find this out overnight. Neither will you. I wish you luck and good fortune.
Re:Technical Writing.... (Score:2)
or you may end up shit faced in so
Re:Technical Writing.... (Score:2)
Drudgery is FUN!!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes! (Score:1)
That's why you and I are tech writers. That is why a lot of these guys should NOT be tech writers: if they think this stuff is boring, they are fantastically ill-suited for the thing we do day in, day out. I cringe when I hear people contemplating tech writing because they think it's lucrative (ha; you're better off programming) or they think tech writing jobs are falling o
Re:Yes! (Score:2)
Yeah, that's why I'm a tech writer. I don't have the creativity to be a writer in the ordinary sense of the word. But the mental effort needed to write good technical prose is what I need to keep my brain from getting calicified.
Re:Technical Writing.... (Score:1)
Does it Matter? (Score:4, Interesting)
What I learned from writers in the industry who came to talk to our classes:
So, the bottom line is:
You may have as much trouble getting a tech writing job as a newly-minted coder would; your job might be as specialized and ever-changing as a coder's job; you're better off with an MBA; your job might be sent overseas; and, instead of using your favorite IDE, you might get to use Word, instead.
Oh, and I forgot: because there are fewer of them, and their role is often misunderstood, you will possibly be less appreciated than the programmers.
Have fun!
-->orbbro.
A tools rant (Score:3, Interesting)
Your advice is correct -- unfortunately. The authoring tools we use are seriously out
Answers based on recent work as an editor (Score:2)
I'm currently freelancing as an editor for the official manual on a certain general code compiler that you may have used before. It's not exactly a writing job, but because the book was written by a committee a big part of the work involves rewriting sections to make sure it doesn't read like something written by a committee.
I think this work & some other random writing I've done gives me a little bit of room to reply here.
The
Thoughts from a "real world" rookie. (Score:2)
For the past year I have been solid against getting a masters in CS or BA. I like writing, and had a minor in Professional Writing in college, and have been considering getting a masters in Writing of some kind.
I think now, however, that getting a masters in writing would be near worthless with the career track I am on. It would just be a person
College isn't boot camp (Score:4, Insightful)
Most times, the best technical people in the long run are people with interests outside of taking some magic combination of classes that will lead to a good degree. There is nothing in this world more clueless and obnoxious than a 24 year old with a technical degree and an MBA who thinks that he shits gold bricks.
Study history or botany or whatever and leverage your technical or engineering background to produce something of value.
You only live life once, enjoy it.
Re:College isn't boot camp (Score:2)
That's a good question -- do you really want to be any one thing for the next 30 years?
Last year I left (involuntarily) the cable/telecom industry after 25 years. The job was fun for most of that time, in part because I was working for big enough companies that I could "change" jobs every few years. Interestingly (or perhaps sadly), none of the companies where I did that work still do any of the interesting parts -- everything has beco
Re:Why just an M.S.? Go for the Ph.D.! (Score:1)
dat meens nottin! eye rote windoze coad!!! Dezine fer windoze! Itz da bestest OS eva!
Wow! (Score:3, Funny)
You can get a degree in Counter Strike? What university is this?!?
Managers Don't Care About Tech. Writers (Score:1, Interesting)
If the company is doing poorly, managers will cut technical writing to the bone. Often they're instructed to cut 10 people from 100 employees, and they tend to focus on the most easil
Re:Managers Don't Care About Tech. Writers (Score:1)
Re:Managers Don't Care About Tech. Writers (Score:1)
David Castro
slashdot-email[at]spamex
Speaking as a QA Geek: Good Luck (Score:2)
From what I encountered, to be a successful technical writer, you must mi
That degree thing (Score:2)
OK, false assumption here: that you need to study tech writing in school to actually do it. I've known a few people with Technical Communication degrees. Maybe 75% of them knew what they were doing. Which is probably twice the percentage of the profession as a whole, so most TC programs must be pretty good. But that other 25% tells me that the degree is no guara
Don't (Score:2)
Get a real job. Go into hands-on technology or management, and learn to understand both reasonably well. Technical writing is not something you will make a career out of. Not to mention that it's about as exciting in the long run as watching grass grow.
There no substitute is for good know of solid, grammatic correct, concise english language write skill from college. Both tech and management jobs will give you plenty of opportunity for technical writing--something that a lot of individuals tend to disr
Re:Don't (Score:1)
Tech writing is something that you can make a career of.
I worked in the Systems User Documentation group at Telstra for 2 years as a contract web developer. There were 3 web developers and 18 tech writers in that group, when we were all on basically the same pay and all out sourced, most of the tech writers found work just as easily, and in some cases more easily, that the developers. (actually the whole department (660) were outsourced).
I worked at GE as a tester for a short while, and you need tech
Re:Don't (Score:2)
Mod parent up, please. He makes excellent points.
That's sort of my point. Most tech jobs (when done well) and most IT management jobs (when done well) require that skill.
While this is entirely correct, and I do not doubt your own qualifications, it's unfortunate that most d
Re:Don't (Score:1)
I've had the good fortune to work with some great tech writers, great programmers and great IT managers, and yes, I have also seen the clueless versions of each. I've written some good tech manuals, etc, but when a professional comes along, well its just like watching a very good programmer do his/her stuff, I am in awe of how they turn complex issues into clear easy to read expression. It just amazes me. For me it is usually, very, very rough draft, very rough draft, rough draft, rewrite, rough draft, e
The first thing to ask is... (Score:2)
Why not document some open source projects - then you can submit a portfolio to potential employers. If you can't be bothered, then rethink going into technical writing. If you think you lack the necessary skills, then do some evening courses.
You're at the start of your career: aim hig
Get Breast Implants and pretend you're female (Score:2)
Female + CS degree = they'll just assume that the only thing useful you'll really be able to do is technical writing and glorified secretarial work er- I mean "management." Even after you've been coding for 20 years.
Is it cliquey? (Score:1)
I looked into technical writing briefly and got the impression that the field is something of a clique with social barriers to entry. I was also suprised to see that some technical writing positions required degrees in English rather than a technical field. Perhaps my experience wasn't representative of the field, but it put me off a bit.
Answers (Score:1)
Programmers think we're lowly worms unless we demonstrate reasonable tech expertise and an ability to learn fast without pestering them too much.
(2) is there someone out there who has first-hand experience in technical writing who can tell me about the work and their experiences;
Typical process--find out about project. Read any existing docs. Talk to subject matter experts (developers, QA, support). Plan and write documents. Route for
Well, this is precisely what I do... (Score:2)
I work as a techwriter in LA, been doing this for three years now (one in college, two in the real world). Go ahead and reply if you have any questions I don't address.
Re:Well, this is precisely what I do... (Score:2)
Working with good tech writers is a dream (Zvi and Tamsin, I'm talking to you!) and working with bad tech writers is a nightmare.
Remember, having the best product in the world is useless unless you have the docs to back it up. And you know your tech docs are good when your support people are referring to them on a regular basis.
My Opinion (Score:1)
technical communication is alive and well (Score:2)
And it is known by many names ... business analyst, communications {whatever}, web developer (who also does content), sometimes even technical writer :) And sometimes by no name at all ... I think I'm officially a "Systems Analyst".
Tools? Word, Framemaker, RoboHelp primarily. Dreamweaver is popular. Tools are relatively secondary - be flexible and adapt to whatever tool you need to use.
Programmer opinions of technical communicators? All over the map. If they are competent, decent individuals, and
the real deal concerning tech writers (Score:1)
You have a lot to learn! (Score:1)
First, yes, sometimes being a technical writer is a lot like being Rodney Dangerfield -- we don't get no respect! Unless, of course, we work hard to earn it! While many developers look down on technical writers as subhuman -- or at least less than intellectual -- when you prove that the emphasis in your job title is on *technical* rath
My answers ... (Score:2)
That depends on a technical writer. If I ever met a qualified one, i'd buy him/her a beer. Or a cake. Or even flowers for a woman if that wouldn't violate company's sexual harrassment policy and she wasn't likely to get offended. I hate writing, and having someone do a good job for me would be a godsend.
On the other hand, the uber-dumb hack that the management stuck me with about 2 years ago, who wasted my countless man-hours and in th
it's more than help files (Score:1)
TeX? (Score:1)
What ever happened to TeX and LaTeX? Everyone knows there is nothing more superior for technical and mathematical writing!
Tech writing jobs and programmers (Score:1)
There are few e
Get some coding experience (Score:2)
The others posters who said that you'll make more money doing API documentation were right on the money, so to speak. A good technical tech writer will make somewhere around $80/hour in the Bay Area right now. That's for writers who have at least a few years of professional development experience i