What are the prospects for a would-be technical writer?
I am a sophomore in college, and am considering majoring in Communications Studies. As this is what many established technical writers have as their background, I think this is a good choice to support a possible decision for technical writing to be my career. However, what companies employ in this area? I live in a fairly small town. Is telecommuting a possibility? Also, how does one enter the field fresh out of college? Thanks in advance.
Ok - I may not be your favorite answerer, but my honest opinion: A communications background is helpful to have, but my own advice would be to do an academic degree with a minor in Communications. Communications programs provide you with vocational training but that can be limiting, especially since technology changes. And you won't get the quality of education that a good humanities program will give you. I did an English Lit degree, no Comms whatsoever, and I've worked in Comms for years. I presently work as a tech writer for a multi-national technology firm. (If you like science, you could do one of those majors too. If you want to write for the pharma companies, it's essential.)
Back to why I think an academic route is best: the people who went to school at the same time I did who got Comms degrees did not learn a thing about the methods (programs, media) most communications experts are using today. But Shakespeare is forever! :) Enjoy school and get good grades. You'll learn much of what you need to know about the media and methods from the work itself.
On finding work and telecommuting - yes, you can. There are lots of opportunities for working remotely. The issue - frequently - is getting your career started. Start early, as a communications assistant and beg for assignments. You may need to take a job in a nearby city for awhile until you can build your skills and portfolio. Be open to freelance and get clips up on the internet. Even if you are only writing about your favorite TV shows, put a blog together. There are tons of little jobs on Craigslist that can help you build your resume.
Also, if you have to take a job straight out of college to support yourself - as I did - try to get the boss to give you writing assignments even if it is not part of the job description. I worked as an assistant (non-comms job) for a large company that was in the midst of rewriting their SOPs (standard operating procedures.) My boss, who started as a salesperson somehow got that assignment. (I seriously don't know how - he didn't know the difference between "there," "they're" and "their" - LOL.) I offered to do them for him and he was relieved. I learned everything I could about the format (just by searching the internet) and went at it. The next year, I did the updates. The next year, I was doing SOPs for that company and a few others on a freelance basis.
One last thing: the best thing about getting a non-Comms degree is that you can change careers easily if you ever want to. There is a very high burnout rate for tech writing. It's demanding work and I think it would be very hard to do for an entire career. (I am presently looking to transition into another career entirely.)
I hope some of this helps - good luck!
Technical Writing Skills : How to Write a Project Description for a Proposal
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how to technical writing
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