17 Career Opportunities After A Technical Writing Course

Do you want to become a Technical Writer? Or would you like to know about career opportunities after a technical writing course? This article explains exactly that. Technical Writing is in demand and is a high-paying job because technical writers bridge the gap between- complex and hard-to-understand technical terminologies into easily understandable content. They provide a very big helping hand to entrepreneurs to achieve their goals.

What is Technical Writing

When complex is made simple– we define it as Technical Writing. Although the definition sounds as easy as it can be, technical writing involves a huge skill set to be put correctly in the right places.

It is a part of Technical Communication. You will only be able to convey when you yourself understand that concept thoroughly. User-friendly text looks easy when read, but it’s exactly the opposite when you make it.

It’s all about writing and teaching the target audience on complex subjects like forestry, biotechnology, electronics, medical, finance, robotics, aeronautics, engineering, chemistry, cryptocurrency, computer software, and hardware, etc.

These subjects may sound alien to the people who do not know anything about it. A technical writer educates them of the same, as simply as possible.

A must-read Technical Communication – A New Throb In Writing Domain

What do Technical Writers do?

Technical Writers work as mediators between the technical staff- who make a product and the generic not-so-technical customer- who uses the product. Keeping in mind both sides, a technical writer develops a communication strategy. The strategy conveys the right message of the developer to the consumer.

 They do the following tasks:

• Understand the need of why a document is being made.
• Taking details from the designers and developers of the product.
• Study the product sample thoroughly.
• Make sure that the product made by the technical staff is easy to operate. This makes it easier to explain to the audience.
• Writing content for how-to guides, user manuals, frequently asked questions, and all the supporting documents of the product.
• Making use of images, diagrams, drawings, etc- wherever necessary for making it easy for the users to understand in a better way.
• Writing for all the platforms- offline or online.
• Revise changes according to customer feedback.

Read also, Top 10 Technical Writing Courses in India

Career opportunities after a Technical Writing Course

The career opportunities after a technical writing course are vast. The cherry on the cake is the high pay scale it offers. American Bureau of Labor Statistics, proves that this is a diverse field and is rapidly growing with each passing year.

Here is a listing of 17 Career opportunities after a technical Writing course that awaits you. You are a fresher in this field or an experienced writer. The list contains opportunities for both.

Learn about How to Become a Technical Writer?

Select an option as per your taste and then you can research it in detail.

1.  Traditional Technical Writing

Repair manuals, programming guidelines, product specifications, research papers, instruction guides- are examples of traditional technical writing. This is what technical writing started with.

With the scope of technical writing being broadened in the modern era, it has been bifurcated into various sub-niches.

But even today, a lot of companies go with this approach of hiring a technical writer who is appointed to write everything as mentioned above. The only requirement is that the writer should be from that field.

Learn the Fundamentals of Technical Writing

2.  Professional Report and Review Writers

This is technical writing related to making reports and reviews for a business. Here the writers are expected to write professional reports portraying business status, personnel activity reports, business growth, legal case reviews, etc. The profile can be expanded according to the requirements of the company.

Know about How to get Technical Writing Jobs

3.  Science and Medical Paper Writers

As can be understood from the topic, this is a niche-specific career opportunity. If you were/are a science student, then this could be one of the brightest career opportunities after a technical writing course.

Research is a difficult task done by medical professionals and scientists. It becomes hard for them to explain their research findings to the common man.

This is where they hire technical writers who help them in preparing content that is easy to understand. These documents later help other practitioners and the general public to learn about the topic.

Explore the Career Growth in technical writing

4.  Technical Editor

Technical editors are in equal demand to that of technical Writers. They also play a very important role in making a good and error-free copy of the content.

Keeping a check on grammar, spellings, punctuations, and syntax errors is the job of a technical editor. Moreover, his/her contribution in improving the content in any way plays a major part.

Learn the essential components with the best Technical Writing Course

5.  UX Writer

UX writers work very closely with the design team of an organization. They are appointed mainly to write for a mobile app, a website, or software. Educating and giving all the information about the software/app to the users is what a UX writer does. 

Thus, a consumer has almost all the answers to his questions when he is using the app/software for the first time. The content copy acts as a guide for the user to reach their goal. This opportunity is quite in demand in the present scenario.

6.  End-User Documentation Writers

Almost every product comes with a user manual. lt helps the consumer understand how to use the product. The manufacturers do not write these manuals themselves. They hire efficient technical writers to do it for them. These manuals are known as end-user documents.

A Technical Writer makes clear and precise content that is easy to understand. They keep in mind the consumer’s ideology and make sure that they have no problem understanding the instructions given.

7.  Technical Marketing Content Writer

Though developers have this amazing talent of developing outstanding products, not all of them know how to write about what they have created.

This is where a Technical Marketing Content writer walks in. He explains to the target audience, what the product is all about through different forms of marketing materials. The writer will be asked to write offline and online mediums both.

Examples of Offline write-ups include:

• Proposals and Pitches

Working closely with the marketing team, the writer writes content for business proposals and pitches.

This includes product specifications, executive summary, and proposals.

• Brochures

These have standard formats and are presented to the clients when you want to introduce the product to them. 

Brochures help the client understand the product. From its usability to its functionality, a brochure describes everything.

Examples of Online write-ups include:

• Website Content

Writing product descriptions for the website is another task to be performed by a technical Content Writer. Websites are the most commonly used platforms for research when a customer wants to know about the product. It’s a very important medium for marketing, as it attracts the targeted audience to a great level.

8.  White Paper Writer

A White Paper Writer writes highly researched,text-heavy, data-centric documents for a business. These documents are written mainly to show the deep knowledge- a company has for the industry. 

The in-depth detailed analysis that a White Paper Writer needs to portray in a simplified manner is a very difficult task.

White Papers are used by companies to market themselves. It’s not a direct sales pitch, but a marketing strategy to attract customers by telling them of the level of expertise that a company has in that industry. It mentions the problems an industry was facing and how the company was able to solve them. 

9.  Case Studies

Case studies are solution-based contexts written on the problems that were experienced by customers. They are also used for marketing purposes. The content in case studies is easy to understand because real-time experiences are shared. It interests the readers as it feels like a story being told.

Getting your hands on the profile of a case study writer in the technical niche can hone the ladders of your financial success quickly. Being a master in this category will give you a booming career.

10. Technical Creative Writer

Wondering how does technical and Creative writing walk together? Technical is boring, whereas creative is entertaining. When the two are combined, it can lead to engaging content which a probable customer would read with interest. 

Not compromising on the technical facts, if a context can be engaging, then the chances of a customer taking action (like buying the product) become wide. Hence, nowadays employers are looking for writers who can help them achieve this goal. 

If you would like to keep your creativity intact, work as a technical content writer; then this could be one of the career opportunities after a content writing course.

11. Technical Communication Consultant

The main job of a technical communication consultant is to create how-to guides, instruction manuals, etc- keeping in mind the needs of the user. They go-ahead to collect information from the hiring customer. Focusing on how they would want the documents to be prepared\, the content is created accordingly. Technical Communication consultants create customer-specific content.

12. Technical Finance Writer

If you are from the finance industry and have done a technical writing course then this career opportunity for you. Creating informative content like financial documents for insurance agencies and banks is the job of a technical Finance writer. The content is made for both online and offline mediums,

Online mediums include- websites and presentations

Offline mediums include- Print and news outlets

These writers have a vast portfolio. From making guides on- how to set up a retirement fund, they go ahead to make reports on the global stock market. It is an interesting and worthy job that will fetch you recognition in your organization.

13. Feasibility Study and Corporate Report Writer

Compiling together different options in one written document is a feasibility report. It has to be made in a way that a decision-maker can make out the difference between the available options. It is data put together to compare the products. Hence, choosing the best option becomes easy for them.

The clients look forward to these feasibility reports so that actions can be taken more promptly. They gain clear ideas for what a product talks about. The feasibility study and corporate report writer play a great role in closing the sales leads of the company.

14. Policies and Procedures Writer

Before joining any organization, there is this policy and procedure document given to you. This manual is prepared to keep in mind the benefits of both sides. A person should be aware of the expectations and responsibilities at the same time. 

However big or small the company is, these documents are prepared to avoid allegations and breaches of trust in the future. A proper technical writer is appointed to make this kind of documents. If you specialize in this role, it can take you places.

15. Business Plan Writer

As a Business Plan Writer, you can open your firm or work on it as a Freelancer. These writers are approached when a new or an existing business wants to apply for a loan. They need to present a business plan to the bank or a financial agency with all the details.

It mentions everything- from marketing strategies to potential profits and losses. The proposal gives a synopsis of the complete functioning of a business. It is according to how appealing a business plan looks- that a loan is granted.  

16. Grant Writer

While applying for a grant from the government, the company or an individual needs to complete an application process. This requires the submission of a grant proposal.

The proposal is made by Grant Writers for Non- profit Organizations. The document is then submitted to these government corporations, foundations or trusts, so that fundings can be secured. The niche is lucrative and is much in demand because not many technical writers specialize in this kind of writing.

17. Technical Books

If you are an expert in any subject and like to write detailed-oriented content, then blindly opt for this career opportunity after a technical writing course. Your books will be a helping hand to those readers, who want to gain expertise with the in’s and out’s of that product. 

Technical books can be termed as help guides as well. The only difference is that books are more detailed oriented. They can even serve as a complete course if a reader looks forward to mastering the product.

A detailed understanding of the product is a necessary factor. Moreover, the content should be very simple, as the person reading it is a non-expert in that field.

Requirements of become a Technical Writer.

• Excellent communication skills
• Knowledge of the subject you are writing.
• Great researching skills
• Ability to write clearly and crisply.
• A passion for teaching people could be an added advantage.

Signing off:

The Career opportunities after a technical writing course sound promising enough financially. They could be a very good option if you have studied that field before or that niche interests you.

In case you pick up a niche you know nothing about, then one will only end up researching more and writing less. That could be a source of frustration in the future. A Technical Writer is niche-specific. One cannot write on all the technical subjects.

Hence, before picking up anything, make it a point to research the opportunity thoroughly and decide for yourself, if you will be able to do justice to it or not.

All the best!!