Your Career in Technical Writing
A Guide to Preparing For and Landing a Technical Writing Job
This booklet represents a compilation of material from several sources, including the Society for Technical Communication and the National Writers Union. It is intended to provide both an overview of the profession, and practical tips on getting started in the field.
The first section, Careers in Technical Communication , is drawn from an introductory document from the Society for Technical Communication (STC) www.stc-va.org. It provides an overview of the profession, and introduces the organization.
The next section, Breaking into Technical Writing , was written by working technical writers in the San Francisco/Silicon Valley area of California, in conjunction with a seminar of the same name sponsored by the National Writers Union, www.nwu.org. This document provides detailed information on the profession, on preparation for your first technical writing job, and tips on getting that job.
The third section, Ten Steps to Getting a Writing Job , by John Collins, www.niva.com/writblok/fall95/10-steps.htm, offers detailed recommendations on obtaining and surviving the essential interview for a technical writing job. While much of this document is applicable to any job interview, it is written from the perspective of an experienced documentation manager. This article originally appeared in the fall 1995 issue of Writer's Block magazine.
The final section, Technical Writers Code of Professional Practice, is the National Writers Union's proposed standard of conduct for the technical communication profession. This document details ethical conduct for both employees and employers, as well as providing guidelines for technical writing contracts.
Your Career in Technical Writing was prepared by Fred Sampson as his portfolio project for the class Basic FrameMaker at Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA, Spring 1999. All documents included within this booklet are copyright the respective authors and sources, and used by permission. Each document was obtained via the World Wide Web, and converted to Adobe FrameMaker format for this project. This project was then converted to HTML by FrameMaker, and edited with the Hot Dog HTML editor.
The Author/Editor
Armed with a Master of Arts degree in English from UCLA, Fred Sampson spent over twenty years in small business administration and management. In search of his second career, Fred has chosen to put his communication skills and experience to work. Fred has published articles in Monterey Bay TechWatch (the newsletter of the Santa Cruz Technology Alliance), the Watsonville, CA Register-Pajaronian, Sail, Sailing, and Latitude 38. He most recently worked as a technical writer for a software company in Capitola, CA, and is Treasurer and Delegate for the Santa Cruz/Monterey Local 7 of the National Writers Union.