Q&A: What should my major be for a career in technical writing?
I received the following question from a reader:
I’m a 20 year old college student and I just finished up my first year at a local community college and I was wondering what my major should be if I want to become a technical writer when I eventually graduate. Right now my counselors have me majoring in General Science (b/c my dream job would be to work as a writer at Scientific American) but I’m wondering if that’s the right path I should be taking. I’m new to this site but I’ve already found a wealth of great information by just browsing about. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
If your dream job is science writing, follow a science major. Remember that having skills to write is only one element of technical writing. Knowledge of the domain you’re writing about (for example, science) is equally important, if not more.
That said, I don’t know of many science-writing jobs. There are far more jobs for technical writers in the software industry than anywhere else.
If I could go through college again and choose my major once more, I would probably still choose English literature with an emphasis in creative writing, but also add a secondary major in graphic design. Reason being, the combination of graphics and text make an excellent combination.
Why not computer science? Well, the software I write about isn’t something that a degree in computer science would have necessarily prepared me for. I don’t have a strong interest in documenting APIs, so the more advanced computer programming knowledge might simply be lost on me.
Another possible route for a major would be to ditch writing altogether. If you already have good writing skills, pour your mind into science classes and write on the side. Become an Isaac Asimov. Knowing John Donne’s poetry and Charles Dickens’ plots won’t necessarily help in a career in technical writing anyway.
Whatever your major, technical writers are lifelong learners. Most professional technical writers fell into the profession from meandering paths. Some were anthropologists, others teachers, or philosophers, physicists, and botanists — you name it. They’ve all managed to develop the skills they needed to excel in the field. So does it really matter what your major is? Not really. Learn to think critically, ask questions, write well, and be patient. Those attributes will do more for your career than any specific major you choose.
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Photo from Flickr by Herkie
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Dream jobs can be great motivaters or self-made prisons. Sometimes a bit of both. Had I achieved my dream job(s) in my early twenties, I would not have been exposed to the awesome and life changing opportunities that have so enriched my life. I would also be looking for new work as some of my desired career paths have undergone radical change.
And those dream jobs? Ice gotten to do almost all or them in other capacities.
At your age, take the time to read Strengthsfinders 2.0 brief Tom Roth and do the online assessment. You will learn what your talents are, which you can then use to guide your educational and career choices. Take time to read and do the activities in What Color is Your Parachute. These will give you the tools and knowledge needed to explore the real-world application of skills and knowledge in a variety of domains (science, engineering, IT, software developement, marketing, and so on).
Knock out the rest of your general ed requirements in community college while working entry level jobs in domains/disciplines/careers that might interest you. Bottom line, Starbucks, McDonalds, Cold Stone, and every other job had a technical communicator write processes and procedures. Real user experience will help you refine your goals, inform your decisions, and put some money in your pocket. It also counts for points in future job quests.
What Color is Your Parachute!
That’s the book that got me into technical writing. Great read, although I did not do the exercises. It radically changed the way I think about searching for a job.
I wished I had read it before, although I suppose the years wasted on the wrong jobs made me more receptive to it. In a way, it pulled me out of the dead-end I was in.
That, and the Students section on this website.
Hi Tom,
Your reader’s question reminds me of the perennial debate about who makes the best technical writer – the liberal arts/humanities graduate who can learn how technology works, or the technology graduate who learns how to write? I don’t think there’s a definitive answer, as I’ve ment plenty of successful and effective technical writers who have come along both of those routes. (As a humanities graduate myself, I do have my own prejudices, of course).
You are right to say that most technical writing jobs are related to technology products, rather than to science, particularly to the technology products (gadgets, devices, computers, and software) we use more and more in our daily lives both at home and at work.
Whatever a technical writer has studied, the key thing they have to understand is how and why people use those technology products, and then know how to explain to people how to use those products in the most effective way.
Hi David,
This is your fellow “Medidatian” Tech Commer here responding to your post. I agree that there’s no definitive answer, and quite frankly, it doesn’t really matter whether you have a degree catered towards writing or towards a science-related field. Either way, to be a Technical Writer you need to be self-disciplined. I say that because in most cases people in our field do tend to have either a humanities background or a science background. Once you break into the field, it’s your job to be proactive and learn about the field in which you lack. I have an English degree background and little experience with software prior to my current company (Medidata). It was (and still is) all on me to learn the technical aspects of our company’s products and software in general. Likewise, if someone with a lot of software experience were to begin work as a Technical Writer, they would likely need to study up on various writing skills and techniques needed to produce clear, accurate, and user-friendly material. So, like I said, in my opinion you must you must be a proactive and self-disciplined learner to be successful in this field. Then again, this is probably true for just about any field or profession.
For a job as a technical writer (or technical communicator these days), get a degree in technical communications and learn how to write technical documents. A degree in creative writing does nothing for you as a technical writer, especially in the software industry. Technical writing is quite prescribed, so learn to do it correctly. You will save your technical editor (if you should be so lucky as to have one) a lot of time and energy teaching you how to write. And you will save yourself a lot of rewriting as you stumble through learning how to correctly write a procedure. And if you’re writing online help, learn the tools that go along with that, such as HTML and DITA.
I am a Masters in Medieval and Modern History, and got into technical writing “by fluke.” By virtue of my Masters, I got a job in a well-known website in India that was launching a portal on Spirituality. While working on the portal and with designers, I learnt HTML coding amongst other fundamentals. I found it interesting, and I learnt quickly, and soon instead of depending on the developers to code the content that I wrote, I was coding it myself.
My next job was to write content for 16 axillary companies of a major automobile manufacturer (I got into the job because of my website writing/coding expertise.) When this automobile company went for ERP implementation, we had a number of ERP consultants coming into our office and asking for help with documents. As a content person, I was soon exposed to this new area, and slowly templates, style guides and standards, became a way of life. 12 years into a successful technical writing career, I am now leading a team, as well as contributing individually, and my life centers around style guides and the nuances of language. My love for History finds respite in my passion for reading!
I, however, strongly agree with Diane that if we consciously want to choose a career in technical writing, we should avail learning opportunities early-on. For many writers in India this was not an option 15 years back, but now we have University courses on the subject. Knowledge of the tools before you get into the job, is definitely going to be a time and cost-saver for the company that hires you.
All said and done, one thing that no one can teach you is the flair for writing. While technical writing may not be arguably “creative” but if you have done your fair share of composition and essays in school and college, you will reap the benefits of the skills of comprehensive writing.
As you can see, there are a lot of different paths to becoming a technical writer, all of which have their merits. My $0.02 in the matter: make sure to take at least one computer programming class. Being able to have a basic sense of how to read code will be a valuable asset in techncal writing jobs in the software industry. You might even like it!
There are some terrific science writers out there. I think of what they do as very different from what I do, so I would look to them for answers. My friend Eli Kintish, author of “Hack the Planet” is one to follow. Studying as much science as you can is the way to go in this direction.
Tom’s advice is great too, if you read the subtext: *study what you love*.
. Seriously, college is a great time to experiment with different subjects. I took an economics class just to “see what that was about” and ended up majoring in the field.
My brother’s roomate majored in women’s studies because someone gave him that advice
Good luck to you! Enjoy the ride!
I’m a recent college graduate who has been in the workplace for about a year now. I left school with a B.A. in English, a Technical Writing specialization/certificate and an I.T. Minor.
If you are lucky enough to experience any of these at your local schools, I’d highly recommend it. The English major gave me major exposure to rhetoric which really got me thinking about writing as a form of carefully crafted communication. The Technical Writing specialization gave me tons of hands on experience with software that I still use today and formatting for technical documents. The I.T. Minor gave me experience programming, building websites, designing graphics, and have an all-around skill set that I’ve dipped into many times on the job.
Since science is something you’re excited about in addition to technical writing, if you have the money and time, a double major might be the best route. Today’s job market is tough, and having both might increase your opportunities. As many have pointed out, you may not end up where you planned, but you may end up with something even better.
And if it’s writing like that in Scientific American that you are interested in, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to do some research and write to an editor at that magazine, asking what they typically look for in writers. You may not get a job there in the end, but advice in the field might help you figure out how to get into scientific writing somewhere else.
Tammy
I am just finishing my master’s degree in communications and would highly recommend pursuing a grad degree. This way you can have a major in science (or other field) and then pursue a technical communications degree post-graduate. You could also consider instructional design as that combines technical writing with a foray into the teaching element.
I am reading a book about Scrum, and I was toying with the thought that education should follow Scrum as well: no long-term planning, but short-term discipline.
You cannot list your educational requirements for the next four years, especially when you are 20 (but at 30 is not that different). One wants to be a technical writer one day, and a botanist six months later.
So, if I were to be 20 again, I would take an online degree and work full-time during the day. It is possible, in Europe at least, to take open degrees with no pre-defined list of subjects. You make your course as you go. I would start with what I know I can do already, and then see what comes along.
Maybe I would need to learn something for my job, or I would have a passing love for literature… whatever.
So, what is the best major for technical writing? Anything, as long as you like it and you look at the world with curiosity.
I studied Agricultural Economics. After the first half hour on the first day I knew I hated it and I felt in some kind of kafkian joke. I decided to tough it up and continue nevertheless. Four years of utter misery followed. Do not make my same mistake.
I currently work from home as a Freelance Technical Writer and I must say that it is very rewarding. I fell in love with writing my senior year in High School in my Creative Writing class.
I believe that writing is a great field to go into and it gives people the freedom to have the option to work from the freedom of their own home.
Great write-up and I think this question will pair well with it. I am an Electrical Engineer who is looking to get into freelance technical writing. I have tried to get as much as I can from my current position as a design engineer, but there just isn’t much interest from my company who pretty much farms it all out. Any suggestions of where I can get more of a start and try my hand at it? I have always enjoyed writing and feel I am pretty decent at it, especially for an engineer, but I just don’t know where the best place to start is.
Thanks!