With the advance of personal computing, the World Wide Web, and E-Commerce, the high technology sector, once the domain of inventors, scientists, and engineers, is now accessible to the average citizen who can partake in the riches offered in this millennium gold rush.  One way to advance into this privileged I.T. world is through Technical Writing.

Every software and hardware manufacturer, every ISO compliant company, and every E-Commerce retailer must market and document their products, services, processes, and provides technical information to consumers.  Hi-Tech companies seek highly literate, educated writers and professional communicators, and are willing to train them.  

Technical writers come from the journalism, English Lit, and liberal arts curriculums, and like some older people, graduated from college without ever touching a computer. 

One technical writer said, “I only learned word processing so I could write a novel...a few years later, I fell into tech writing and became a consultant earning $40 hourly.”

The demand for computer literate, technically savvy employees boomed in the 1990s, and despite the naysayers, there is no end in sight.   The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, “Information technology jobs are projected to be among the fastest growing occupations through 2006.

Information technology occupations include database administrators, computer support specialists, and all other computer scientists, engineers, and systems analysts. 

Median annual earnings for technical writers were $47,560 in 1999 according to the Society for Technical Communication (http://www.stc-va.org/) and the BLS latest reports indicate technical writers earn a mean hourly wage of $20 and salaries ranging from $25,100 to $79,020. 

Employment of writers and editors is expected to increase ‘faster than the average,’ an increase anywhere from 21 to 35 percent for writers through the year 2008.  

According to the BLS, ‘’opportunities should be best for technical writers because of the growth in the high technology and electronics industries and the resulting need for people to write users’ guides, instruction manuals, and training materials.

This work requires people who are not only technically skilled as writers but are able to keep pace with changing technology. Also, individuals with the technical skills for working on the Internet may have an advantage finding a job as a writer or editor.”Technical writing seems to cover a wide area. 

Not only do tech writers create a variety of written and online documentation that explains how to use high tech products, but also they design and publish promotional materials, as well as prepare illustrations, photographs, diagrams, and charts.  Graphics and web design are part of this fast growing industry.

Once the domain of those who could only translate computer languages, Tech writers are now the English Lit majors who know their way around computer software, and can learn the jargon of the engineers or the manufacturer they work for. Jim Desmond, president of Technical Standards, a documentation facility and an agency placing technical writers, says “with technology changing so fast, someone has to be the link between the engineers and the users - that’s where the technical writers come in.  This is a great career opportunity for people to use both their creative and analytical skills.”