A decade back, when the art of technical writing was still at its infancy, the number technical writers in the country were just touching the 100 mark. After a decade of IT growth and outsourcing, India now boosts of having the largest pool of technical writers in South Asia. By most of the estimates, the number of technical writers, from the paltry 100, has now swelled to nearly 6,000 technical writers in the Country. So much so that, the word ‘Technical Writing’ is the most searched word by Indians in the internet search engine Google.
Every year, the number of engineering graduates produced in the Country is in the upwards of 50,000. And this is fueling competition in the job market and hence graduates have started to realise the need to foray into uncharted territories With outsourcing picking up in a big way in India since 2001, the large pool of IT talent in the Country, which already has a solid grounding in communication skills, is finding itself more and more attracted towards the concept of pursuing technical writing as a full time career.
So, can any engineering graduate or for that matter a graduate from any other discipline take up technical writing? The answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. No doubt that over the years the gap between the pay scales among software developers and technical writers have diminished and technical writing has become lucrative. However, experts still believe that technical writing is ‘niche’ and requires a very unique set of skills, which have to be honed over a period of time.
Technical writing requires a combination of good writing skills and a background of technical knowledge. Interested graduates should be inclined towards writing about new developments that constantly take place in IT. As a Hyderabad based technical writer Raula Vivekananda aptly puts it: “One should have an eye for information and zeal to learn on his own”.
Most tech writers also point out that the profession is only for those who want to pursue a very different career and at the same time be in touch with the software development side of an IT organization. “A tech writer has to work closely with the technical team and also with the business analyst group to understand the procedures and needs,” Mr. Vivekananda says.
Several experts point out that since 1998, that there has been a consistent demand in the market for good technical writers. However, despite the large IT talent, the technical writing field is still affected by the huge disparity between demand and supply. Many companies have also realised the significance of such niche writers and have started offering them good salaries, which are on par with software developers and testers.
Pre-requisites to become a technical writer:
Often people presume that tech writing is all about writing instruction manuals for the end user; however this is not the case. It involves a highly technical process and persons with only the necessary skills would be able to justify the job.
· Excellent grammar and language skills are a must. Control over syntax, proper composition and structuring of sentences and clarity in tenses and other parts of speech inherent in English are a must to become a good tech writer. Knowledge of the vast English vocabulary is good but not mandatory as a rule because tech writing involves use of simple and lucid
language, rather than the use tough and
complicated words and sentences.
· Tech writer obviously should have enough technical knowledge to understand the technical terms and terminology of the developers. Else, the writer will have to depend a lot on developers and testers to understand the technical terminology. A graduate with science background, good English writing skills and zeal to learn are the right ingredients to become a good technical writer.
Technical writing and its importance for software companies:
The importance of technical writing for software companies has been hotly debated in the last decade. However, the truth remains that no software developed by any top company will appeal to the end user, unless it is properly documented and presented.
The primary responsibility of tech writers is to produce efficient help manuals and other support documentation so that the end users are able to use the software or for that matter any other product in an easy and efficient manner. Realising the importance of documentation, software companies are recruiting fresh graduates and offering them ‘on the job training’ with stipend on the aspects of tech writing.
To produce a concise and easy to understand report, document or a manual, the technical writer has to work closely with the developing team, understand the modules and the segments involved in the software.
Developing an online help, a major source of information provided by software companies to the end user, is the responsibility of the technical writer. And to come up with online help, the tech writer should be well versed with technical writing tools like HTML etc.
The realization by top IT companies on the need to have sound technical writers is reflected on the number of job postings hosted by job sites and technical writing websites. On an average, everyday, websites post 5 to 7 technical writing jobs in India.
How to acquire technical writing skills:
Unlike in United States, technical writing, till recently, was never taught as a separate subject in Indian Universities. However, realizing the importance of technical writing, a few Universities and colleges have started introducing technical writing courses. But these institutions are few and far between in India.
There is a famous maxim among legions of technical writers in the Country. The belief and acceptance of the fact that internet is the Godfather of technical writing India. The actual process of crafting a document, the required skill sets and help to master the host of tools devised for technical writing are available from several sources. But, internet continues to provide maximum information and help for aspiring technical writers.
“Technical writers have formed internet groups to help each other. The internet groups do meet together once a month in any of the big cities, mainly Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad, in the Country to discuss in detail the latest developments taking place in technical writing,” says another writer R. Satish.
Technical Writers of India (TWIN) have formed a mailing list in which there are over 3,000 technical writers drawn from various parts of the Country. Upcoming tech writers can subscribe to these mailing lists and can also tap into the vast reserves of archive, which has been collected over a period of ten years.
Most of the latest developments are hotly debated and discussed in the numerous forums provided by TWIN in its website. Experts through these websites guide aspiring tech writers. Several tech writers also point out that the seminars and workshops conducted by society for Technical Communications (STC) and TWIN are helpful for young writers.
“Apart from the internet, there are private institutions in big cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad which provide training in technical writing. A few of these institutes are managed by former technical writers, who now have taken up training. Due to the uniqueness of technical writing, most of these institutes charge hefty fee for training and everybody can’t afford to join such institutes. Upcoming tech writers should be careful and consult experts in TWIN forums before taking decision to join,” Mr. Vivekananda said.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES & PAY SCALES:
A majority of technical writing job positions are with software companies while a few others from online marketing and web developments companies. Software companies require tech writers to produce manuals and documentations with regard to hardware and software. Most of the documentation involves user manuals, guides, help pages, error messages among other things; Web based companies hire tech writers to edit content. A few web based companies hire tech writers to make sure that their website ranks higher in relevant key work searches in the search engine. This specialized technical writing technique is called Search Engineer Optimisation.
The Indian chapter of Society for Technical Communication (STC), a worldwide online community for technical writers, had recently conducted a survey of salaries in India. The survey showed that salaries of tech writers grew more than 200 per cent in the last six years or so. The median annual salary for technical writer in India in 2002 was Rs. 2.85 lakh which rose to Rs. 6 lakh in 2008. The survey also shows that current average salary of fresher in this field is approximately Rs. 2.5 lakh and seniors with ten years experience earn Rs. 13lakh.
Future:
Technical writers, who have been working in the field since past decade in India, still believe that technical writing in India is at relative infancy. They argue that tech writing as a profession has not matured and is not organized yet in India. The reasons for such line of thinking are many. Till now, technical writing has not become a separate academic discipline in the scores of engineering and degree colleges in the Country.
Technical writing has so far not been able to spread from IT content development to non-IT content development, which could have opened up many more vistas and opportunities in the Country. Several experts also point out that in due course of time, thanks to competitive pricing, scores of technical writing jobs from United States will be outsourced to India. Already, several technical writing projects are being outsourced by top software companies to Bangalore and Hyderabad. However, for large scale outsourcing, as in the BPO industry, the technical writing industry has to mature. “Universities should start introducing innovative subjects like technical writing because such subjects guarantee immediate placement,” several tech writers opine.
It’s not just producing manuals for end users, tech writers have a variety of avenues to deal with. Some of the things tech writers can handle include content management, information architecture, single sourcing, usability, XML, DITA and even web designing. “It all depends on the individual’s commitment towards tech writing. Highly motivated individuals have made it quite a successful career out of tech writing,” several experts feel.
To sum up, technical writing has the potential to become a solid profession in the coming few years. Individuals with right kind of attitude, commitment, writing skills and ability to break down complex scientific matters into a lucid form, which is easily digest-able for the end users, make it big in the technical writing field.
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