Top 9 Technical Writing Certification Courses

Technical writing is the process of documenting anything technical in nature. They could be software manuals, instructions on how a device functions; how-to guides, etc. anything that communicates the complex functionality into terms easily understandable by the user.

It is the job of the Technical Writers to write in detail about the working of a product with the help of supporting figures (images) and diagrams. Many institutes are offering Technical writing certifications, both offline and online.

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Why should you get a Technical Writing Certification?

• If you are a beginner or if you want to sharpen your skills as a technical writer, taking up a Technical writing certification would be one of the best ways to move forward.
• A certified technical writer would undoubtedly have an edge over non-certified technical writers
• You would learn about the latest developments in the technical writing field, be it the latest tools that got developed or other technological breakthroughs that may have become popular.

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Go ahead and choose from the 9 Best Technical Writing Certification

Technical writing is a very fast-growing profession and has therefore resulted in the proliferation of countless online technical writing certification courses.

Here are some of the best technical writing certification courses available in India and outside.

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1. One Week Technical Writer program

Offered By: Technical Writer HQ Training

The One Week Technical Writer program teaches the core basics of technical writing which will make you excel in technical writing thus enabling you to find that technical writing job of your dreams.

Course Highlights

• Covers basics of Technical Writing
• Teaches to write the best documents
• Exposure to documentation tools
• Preps you up for Interviews
• Creating your resume and job search to land interviews

Cost of Certification: This technical writing certification course is priced at $199

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2. Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC)

Offered by: Society for Technical Communication (STC)

This Technical Writing Certification program that STC offers is a series of three professional certifications:

Foundation Certification Course: The Foundation Certification course will introduce the students to the fundamentals of technical writing and is basically for those of you who are novices.

Course highlights

By the end of this certification, the student should be familiar with

• Project Planning and analysis
• Content development and management
• Written and visual communication
• Review & Editing
• Production Delivery
• Practitioner Certification Course

For this course, you have to possess the Foundation Certificate. As the name suggests, this course would enable the candidate to apply the concept and processes associated with technical writing.

Course Highlights

This course would help the student gain knowledge on

• Technical Team Management
• Identifying the right type of audience
• Selecting and organizing content for a project
• Identifying improvements to writing styles

For taking the Practitioner exam, the fee structure is separate for members and non-members

• $360 for current STC members
• $615 for non-members

• Expert Certification

To get CPTC Expert Certification, the candidate will have to submit work products and attend expert interviews.

The Expert Level exam is soon to be introduced by STC.

For those of you who have plans to start with CPTC, the first pre-requisite is to become a member of the STC. Other than technical writing there are many other online courses that STC offers.

3. CTW Certification

Offered by: Henry Harvin

This course has been rated amongst the best Technical Writing courses in India. They have online and offline classes. Once the student completes the Technical Writing course he/she shall be accorded the course certificate endorsed by Henry Harvin.

This certification has recognition from UK Cert, UKAF, MSME, the American Association of EFL, & the Government of India.

Course Highlights

This course will help the student with:

• Improving his/her technical writing skills
• Being aware of the ethics in scientific communication
• Effective communication of technical details to a non-technical audience
• Documenting thesis and research papers for journals
• Streamlining the writing process
• Mastering English expressions that professional writers use to write in a clear and concise manner
• Developing the skills to write in every part of every section of a research paper
• Using free software to create perfect citations quickly

Cost of Certification

This technical writing course is priced at Re. 9500

4. Medical Writer Certified (MWC)

This certification is a more specialized one as the name suggests and it is meant for technical writers who focus on medical science writing.

The AMWA (American Medical Writer’s Association, the body offering this course) with over 4,000 members assists medical writers to excel in their careers by providing them with training, networking, and continued education opportunities.

This writing certification will help you to strengthen your medical skills, your professional profile will receive a major boost, and this will attract better employment opportunities.

Pre-requisites to qualify for the examination:

• A bachelor’s degree in any field
• At least 2 years experience in the field of medical communication

Exam Style:

The exam for this specialized technical certification contains 125 multiple choice questions, the duration being 2.5 hours. This exam is conducted at more than 300 centers around the world.

5.  Coursera’s Technical Certification Courses

Offered By: Coursera

Amongst all the e-learning platforms available, Coursera, an American MOOC (massive online open course) is one of the largest platforms providing over 3,000 online courses, degrees, and certifications in a variety of subjects.

The platform offers a good selection of self-paced, 100% online courses on technical writing. This platform is a good place to start for beginners and also for those of you who would like to sharpen your existing writing skills can take the advanced courses too.

Course Highlights

• The duration of courses is approximately four to twelve weeks, with one to two hours of video lectures per week
• The courses are filled with quizzes, weekly exercises, peer-graded and reviewed assignments
• There is an optional Honors assignment available and sometimes a final project or exam to complete the course

Let us look at a few of the courses on technical writing and those related to it offered by Coursera :

1. Technical Writing – This course will help your professional profile get a major facelift.
2. Communication Skills for Engineers

This course is for engineers who aim to be better communicators in the field of technology and engineering. Since engineering is a discipline loaded with myriads of complex concepts and theories, having very good communication skills will help to translate them into simpler terms that can be easily grasped by laymen.

Writing skills for Engineering Leader

This 16-hour long course teaches the basics of technical writing. This is the course for engineers who believe that their writing needs to be more focused and requires a more professional touch it. This course is offered by Rice University which is highly ranked in the US and also in the world.

There are learning materials and lectures that can be accessed without any cost. However, to acquire the certification and share it as part of your professional profile, you’ll have to pay the prescribed fees.

6. Udemy’s Technical Certification Courses

Offered by: Udemy

Udemy also likes many others provides a massive platform for online training. Furthermore, compared to Coursera, has a wider range of technical courses. Students who complete these courses are offered certificates of completion.

Courses offered range from teaching technical skills to project management to business management and human resources management even for professionals. With such a large collection of courses offered, the learning possibilities are endless.

Some of the top-rated certification programs that are worth your time and effort are :

• Technical Writing: Master Your Career

This course is for beginners which will help you to become a successful technical writer.

Course duration: It is 5.5 hours long

Cost of course: It costs only Rs.3200.

• Professional Technical Writing: Advance Your Skills

This next certification course is also meant for beginners who would like to develop their skills at writing technical documents.

Course duration: It is 6 hours long

Cost of course: It comes with a price tag of Rs. 12,800

• Technical Writing: Software Documentation

This is for those of you who are interested in specializing in software documentation via GitHub; this course is a good place to start with.

Cost of course: The course costs Rs. 3520

Udemy does offer free courses as well, but lately, all the technical courses being offered right now are paid.

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7. Tech-Writer Certification Program

Tech-Writer Certification, in alliance with different accredited university partners, offers a few well-recognized technical certification programs.

These courses offered are different from the ones offered by Udemy and Coursera, the difference being; the Tech-Writer Certification programs have to be completed within specified time periods. In the case where this is not followed, you’ll be required to pay an additional extension fee to continue.

Certifications offered:

• Basic Certificate in Technical Writing

This Technical Writing Certification consists of three courses. The program is led by highly qualified industry and tech writing faculty. This has been designed for individuals who are beginners, who want to make a positive impact on their existing careers in technical writing, or who want to move in a different direction.

Duration of course:90 hours

• Introduction to Technical Writing for Industry

This certification course can be taken up by beginners or those with little experience in the technical writing field.

Duration of course: It is 6 hours long

Cost of course: The course costs $199.90

• Intermediate Technical Writing

This course concentrates more on the documentation aspects of technical writing like design formats, headings, lists, tables, graphics, etc.

• Advanced Technical Writing

This course will get you familiar with a variety of skill sets and processes that will enhance any technical writing project.

Course highlights:

• Regular assessments and quizzes
• Review of written assignments ad feedback by instructors

There is a specified time period during which this course should be completed which is to be noted at the time of enrolment.

Upon successful completion of this course, a paper-based certificate shall be granted from one of our Accredited University Partners, for which you have to apply. University certificate processing fees shall also apply.

Other than the above-mentioned courses, Tech-Writer Certification also has a certificate course on technical communication, a program for structured technical documentation, and one that teaches the basics of written communication skills.

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8. Certificate in Professional Technical Writing

Offered By: The University of Washington

The University of Washington, one of the world’s most renowned public universities offers programs for those who have a certain degree of exposure to writing to develop their existing capabilities. They offer online courses in a wide range of subjects like biotech, social work, engineering, software programming, statistical methods, short story writing, construction methods, etc.

Course Highlights:

• This is a 3-course certification program
• The program is conducted online
• It covers all the fundamental concepts and practical applications of technical writing.
• It covers styles, structures, formats, and requirements for different kinds of technical writing.
• Design methods are used for different document types.
• It teaches principles of visual and user-centered design, standards used in editing, usability testing, layout concepts, and publication formats

Course Duration is 8 months

The Professional Technical Writing Certification program once completed will prove that the student has acquired a deep understanding of the principles of technical writing thus putting him/her in a better position than his/her peers

The three courses that are offered will help you build a solid foundation for technical writing. This well-packed comprehensive program will teach you to create different high-level technical documents, the basic rules that go into designing technical documents, and the use of documentation tools.

9. Technical Writing Certification Program

Offered by: Dalhousie University

The best thing about this program is that it consists of 1 core course called “Technical Writing Essentials,” and 4 elective courses (where the minimum required course that can be selected are 3). All courses can be taken as a whole or on a stand-alone basis.

Pre-requisites: None

Course Highlights:

• The program is conducted online
• Classes are interactive sessions
• Students shall learn the best practices for creating clear, compelling technical documents.
• Self-paced learning activities
• Real-time writing practices with the aid of videos and other media
• Coaching sessions in groups (virtual)
• Each student will be evaluated at the end of each course
• Each course has a test or writing assignment as a final assessment to judge the extent of knowledge grasped by the students
• All requirements mandated in the course must be met within four years.

Cost of Certification is $1,980 ($495 per course)

Upon completion of the program, the student shall be awarded a university-accredited certificate which will reflect all the skills that he or she has acquired.

To sum up, to be part of the technical writers’ community, the best option would be to choose what is best suited for you from the best technical writing courses available listed in this article and go for it.

The results after attending any (or all) of these technical writing courses would be amazing for your career and your professional future.

All the very best!!