Many colleges and even some high schools have courses in technical writing; some even ask people from the industry to share their experiences. Could you be one of those industry insiders talking up our profession? Sure! Here are a few good reasons why:

1. You may have benefitted from such a presentation when you were in school, and doing the same for others is a great way to say thank you.

2. If you didn't hear such a presentation, you may wish you had.
3. Many professors and teachers excel at theory, but students benefit from hearing about real life technical communication as well. Remember, these students could be your future co-workers!
4. You just like getting up in front of a captive audience, and a class of tech writing students is about as captive as it gets.

With so many good reasons to give a presentation, the only thing stopping you may be the old question "What would I tell them?" If so, this article has that answer and then some.

November, 2006, brought me the opportunity to present to a class at a local community college. In preparation for the talk, I polled the TCP email list, and as expected, its members provided a wide range of excellent ideas. Many of those ideas made it into the notes that I used during my presentation.

Feel free to use the following notes, resources and the What Do Tech Writers Like About Being a Tech Writer blog post if you have the opportunity to speak to a group of students -- just remember to tell them about TCP!

Notes

I. Introduction

Ask students to name some things that they use that come with a manual, or all the product manuals they've seen, or places they've seen user instructions. (If they are short on ideas or not outspoken, you can suggest things they may be familiar with: iPods, computers, DVD players, cars.) After they've given examples, tell them that shows the depth and breadth of the industry -- everything has to be documented.

II. The Best Part of The Job

Choose whatever you find to be the most interesting part of your job, talk about the task you spend the majority of your time doing, or highlight an unusual facet to your job. (Whatever you do, pick something that you enjoy. You'll sound more enthusiastic about your career.)

III. What Do Tech Writers Do?

Technical writers create technical documentation for a professional field or consumer technology. They produce:

• Product manuals and online help

• Policy and procedure manuals
• Proposals and RFPs
• Training materials
• Web pages
• White papers
• Reports and presentations
• Project documentation

They may also:

• Research and recommend best practices for communications

• Set and propagate documentation standards and style guidelines
• Manage documentation libraries and collaboration tools

IV. Where Do They Work?

• At all major corporations and many smaller companies

• In just about any field
• As contractors -- higher pay but fewer benefits

V. Characteristics of a Good Technical Writer

• Curiosity

• Learns quickly
• Interacts well with people
• Inquisitive mind
• Likes to explain or describe
• Likes to host or speak in public
• Loves to write
• Loves to learn

VI. How to Become a Technical Writer

Take advantage of opportunities to be published while in school (school publications, freelancing with local publications, or volunteer documentation for non-profits).

Consume what you want to produce. If you want to write magazine articles, read magazines. Want to be a reporter? Read newspapers. Want to be a technical writer? Poke through help applications and user manuals. Develop an eye for quality in the industry that you want to work in.

Intern! Co-op! Volunteer! Make sure you have some sort of job experience by the time you graduate, with references that speak to you as a peer or employee, not as a student.

Take some classes in foreign languages. This helps a lot when you're working with translated materials. You don't have to be fluent, but it helps if you can tell when something is missing from a translation.

Learn everything you can about code by reading or taking a programming class. Having a basic knowledge of programming will help you "speak the language" of your SMEs, which will make your work easier and your relationships with them more enjoyable.

Learn everything you can about illustration and graphics, including CAD. Again, take a class, and read articles online.

Create a portfolio while you're still in school, using school projects or doing volunteer work for non-profit organizations or for the open source community. This way you'll walk into a job interview with not only that official diploma, but also with your own body of work.

VII. Why Become a Technical Writer?

• There is a perpetual need for people who can understand technology and "translate" it for others

• Tech writing is interesting and fun
• Salaries and benefits are excellent
• Tech writing is a versatile career
• Learning never stops!
• Technical Writer is #13 in Money Magazine's Top 50 Best Jobs in America