Telling your conversion story into tech comm
One of the classic stories that is told in our profession is how and why we got into technical writing. The story is usually one of unintended directions and decisions, in which someone initially intends to pursue one career, makes a series of adjusting decisions and course corrections, and finally ends up writing docs as a tech writer. Because so few people actually set out to become tech writers, the story is usually interesting to listen to.
In How did I become a technical writer, Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti shares the story of how started out desiring to go into psychology. As a child, he was fascinated by robots and artificial intelligence, and he hoped the psychology degree would satisfy his interest in technology and the philosophy of mind. However, he found himself more drawn to computer science and read books about programming and web development.
After graduating, he attempted to pursue a PhD in cognitive science but dropped out due to burnout and poor fit. He worked as a content editor for Softonic, a Spanish tech company, for a number of years. He learned about web writing, usability, and serving content at scale, among other things. He later transitioned to technical writing at King, the mobile games maker of Candy Crush. He also organized a Write the Docs community there, which helped him connect with other tech comm professionals.
Fabrizio fell in love with technical writing because it combined his passions and interests: technology, writing, and people. He found it more fitting than content strategy. Fabrizio writes:
… technical writing is tech and writing and people, the same intersection that brought me here. It’s been a nice combination of luck, curiosity, and hard work.
Read more on Fabrizio’s blog, Uno Passo, here: How did I become a technical writer.
I tell my story of how I got into tech comm here: My life story, or reflections on what shaped my life’s career trajectory.
About Tom Johnson
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.
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