Knowing how to become a technical writer is not a straightforward question to answer.
Believe me, I know.
It took me several years to land a technical writing job as an English major with no experience.
The field is broad and deep, with many business sectors to choose from and a shocking variety of required skill levels and job descriptions. For this reason, it can be tough to land your first tech writing gig.
It’s worth the struggle though, because technical writing tends to pay pretty well.
In this guide, you’ll get a comprehensive roadmap for starting a successful career as a technical writer.
But First, What is a Technical Writer… Exactly?
In essence, a technical writer is an expert communicator. Someone who can quickly understand a range of deeply technical information, break that information into bite-sized chunks, and organize it in an easy-to-understand, visually pleasing way. Technical writers are students of their target audience and constantly work to improve how information is presented to accomplish the end goal.
Technical writers add value to their employers by taking technical information and translating it into clear, nontechnical formats. As a document and communications specialist, it is your job to synthesize technical inputs and decide how information should be presented to key audiences and clients.
What Do Technical Writers Do?
A tech writer creates content focused on technical accuracy and concise delivery. Some examples of this include instructional manuals, software documentation, proposals, and a wide range of company content, like policies, procedures, and training documents.
In an increasingly visual world, technical writers are often called upon to dabble in web design and create effective visuals in their documentation. Many technical writers work closely with highly skilled subject matter experts who provide the basis for their content.
As a technical writer, you can expect to work in a very collaborative environment. You will find yourself rubbing shoulders with engineers, software developers, and operators. Understanding how to ask the right questions and be persistent in getting the right information is often the key to success when working with experts in your chosen field.
How to Become a Technical Writer with No Experience?
Now for one of the most commonly asked questions, how to land your first technical writing job with no experience? This isn’t an exhaustive guide, but it is a great place to kickstart your strategy for getting interviews and landing a job.
1. Start by getting a degree in one of two things
A bachelor’s degree is the most common prerequisite for a technical writing job. There are two routes you can take with choosing your major:
- Get a degree in a communications field like English, communication, or journalism
- Get a technical degree in computer science, information technology, or even engineering
Most jobs in the field will require a bachelor’s degree as a prerequisite. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but that will typically look like an equivalent of 4 or more years of relevant on-the-job experience in place of a degree.
You can always go the Associate’s degree route and supplement with a technical writing certificate. Or simply focus on getting any sort of internship or experience in place of or in addition to the degree.
2. Get relevant experience ASAP
The next step is to actively seek relevant writing experience. There are a few ways you can do this.
- Write for a school publication
- Start a blog
- Get a technical writing internship
- Create writing samples in your current career
Writing for a school publication or starting a blog can offer an outlet for amassing writing samples. While publication experience won’t be immediately relevant to technical writing, a blog can focus on explaining something tech-heavy, like creating a website or how to shoot film photography.
A technical writing internship is your best bet for landing relevant experience on your resume. While these internships are typically unpaid, there is a high chance you can find a remote gig that isn’t too demanding in terms of hours. The goal is to have the job title ‘technical writer’.
HR is all about titles. May as well give yourself a leg up and negotiate a title that will help you in the long run, even if the internship is unpaid.
3. Create writing samples within your current career
This is my #1 tip for how to become a technical writer with no experience. If you went the route of getting a liberal arts degree, odds are your first post-grad job won’t be in technical writing for reasons already discussed.
Something you can control is getting creative at your current job. For example, I made it a point to document procedures in departments adjacent to mine when I worked as an executive assistant.
I had spare time and did a lot of cross-training in my role and used those opportunities to create documentation that was lacking within the company. This translated into relevant bullet points on my resume, which made excellent talking points during my tech writing interviews.
A coworker of mine did something similar at his college job working at a dog bakery. He wrote procedures for running the machine and making dog treats.
4. Develop relevant skills
The requirements for becoming a technical writer are broad depending on the industry you end up working in. A great place to find specific required skills and current active technical writer job postings.
This is an obvious tip, but a brilliant one. Check LinkedIn and Indeed for current job listings in your area. These listings are gold mines for knowing exactly how to focus your time on developing skills.
Here are some common ones:
- Reading comprehension and research
- Concise writing
- Editing for clarity and directness
- Correct grammar and sentence structure
- Explanatory and procedural writing
- User-focused documentation and visuals
- Understanding target audiences
- Interviewing subject matter experts
You should also spend time learning everything you can about common technical writing tools, such as:
- Microsoft Word
- SmartDocs
- SharePoint
- Excel
- AI Tools
Relevant soft skills are always applicable to any field you work in.
5. Network with other technical writers
Networking can be a tough order to fill, especially when you don’t live in an area with a ton of technical writing jobs. A formal way to do this would be to attend a technical writing conference, where you can dedicate a weekend to learning and growing your network.
The informal way to do this would be to get on LinkedIn and find local tech writers in the area. Send personalized notes of introduction with your connection requests. Be bold and make your sentiments known that you are looking for a technical writing job.
The fact that I shared a LinkedIn connection with a technical writer in the company is something that caught the eye of the woman who ended up interviewing me for my first technical writing position.
6. Create the perfect resume and cover letter for technical writing
If you want to know how to become a technical writer, you should spend a decent amount of time crafting the perfect resume and cover letter. Even if you’ve never worked in the field, find ways to rework your resume to highlight your communication and documentation skills.
I’m not saying to be dishonest, but I am saying try to see your current tasks with new eyes and describe them in such a way that highlights relevant skills that can apply to technical writing jobs. Use job postings and phrases to understand how to phrase things on your resume.
Writing a solid cover letter is an art. Develop a formula that you like and align with, but make each one personalized and unique to the position. Don’t sleep on using keywords listed in the job listing. Many companies use AI tools to filter through piles of resumes.
7. Apply for technical writing jobs
Even if you don’t have 2-3 years of relevant experience, don’t hesitate to apply for the job anyway. These requirements are just suggestions at the end of the day and it is common to see many entry-level technical writing jobs asking for this level of experience. Finding a 0-2 years experience listing is rare.
Now that I have 3+ years of experience as a technical writer, I’d still apply this principle to a current job search. I’d apply for senior-level positions that require 5+ years of experience. This approach sets you up for sending out more applications and can be the stepping stone you need to negotiate a sizable salary increase.
8. Consume technical writing content
This tip seemed nebulous to me in the beginning, but it’s true, sometimes knowing how to write is not all you need. Diving into examples of technical writing is an excellent place to get familiar with the jargon, sentence structures, and formats out there in the field.
Reading technical writing content will enlarge your understanding of the job and give you something you aim for and mimic once you do end up landing your first technical writing job.
Check out documentation put out by Google on Google Analytics for some good examples.
My Story: How I Landed a Technical Writing Job with No Experience
I started by getting an undergrad degree in English, Rhetoric and Professional Writing. This was the closest track to technical writing my school offered.
I started several blogs. Three of them were related to random lifestyle content. One of them was a sports blog dedicated to reporting on the ATP tennis tour, and more specifically on women’s tennis and tennis fashion. None of this proved to offer relevant writing experience, however.
Next, I landed an unpaid technical writing internship. It was a remote position that only required a couple of hours a week of easy data processing and writing. It honestly wasn’t very relevant experience, but the title was Technical Writing Intern, which looked good on a resume.
Finally, I did all I could to create documentation and procedures for various departments within my company. This allowed me to rework my resume again and emphasize all the documentation and procedure writing I had done. I also made relevant LinkedIn connections with other technical writers in the area.
I should also mention that South Louisiana isn’t a major hub like some states for technical writing careers. In a post-COVID world, however, there are plenty more remote opportunities out there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifications do you need to be a technical writer?
Typically, a bachelor’s degree in communications or a related technical field and 1-2 years of experience. It is rare to find an entry-level technical writing job, but that doesn’t mean you can’t apply for those that require years of experience. Especially if you’ve positioned yourself to have relevant skills from a previous unrelated job.
Is it hard to break into technical writing?
Yes, but not impossible. Since technical writing requires a specific skill set in a highly specialized field, it can be tricky to break into the field as a newbie. Devote time to developing relevant hard and soft skills, get experience with the most common types of software, and apply, apply, apply for jobs.
What are the entry requirements for a technical writer?
A bachelor’s or associate’s degree in English, communication, or a related technical field and 0-2 years of experience. Strong written and verbal communication skills are a plus.
Is technical writing a high paying job?
Yes, technical writing can be a high paying job. In many cases, it is one of the highest-paid communications jobs you can have, with an average entry-level salary of $47,000, a median salary range of $79,000, and a 90 percentile range of $128,110 annually.
Percentile wage estimates for Technical Writers:
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50%(Median) | 75% | 90% |
| Hourly Wage | $ 22.82 | $ 29.45 | $ 38.44 | $ 49.10 | $ 61.59 |
| Annual Wage | $47,460 | $61,260 | $79,960 | $102,120 | $128,110 |
