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>On Nov 30, 2006, at 4:42 PM, S G wrote:
>
>I have been looking at Technical Writing as a career, but although some of
>the information on the net is good, i was hoping i could get some real
>answers from people who work in the business.
I'm in the business, but "work" is a relative term. Seriously, I think Tech
Writing is a great career. Look at the separate thread that discusses how
many different hats we wear. After a few years I think that most us could
qualify for Analyst and Project Manager positions as well.
>Is the field of Technical writing growing? I finish my degree in 2 years so
>i would like a rough idea of if there will be jobs when i finish.
Yes. Companies are now recognizing that their products are only as good as
its documentation. Is this my personal opinion? No, this has been iterated
at my last four positions by upper management. There will always be work
for tech writers. Although it seems simple enough, translating what a
product/service does into something that a user can understand takes real
skill.
>I know that outsourcing is an issue in the IT community, and this does
>relate, so what affect will outsourcing have on Technical writing?
Not much for the foreseeable future. All of us here that have lived in the
U.S. all of our lives know the cultural differences between the states
(heck, between cities in the same state). Now factor in how many companies
there are in the U.S. and how each of these have different styles. Even
those of us with degrees in English/Linguistics, and who have a varied work
history, will still find a slight learning curve going from company to
company. Do you think all these things can be taught to employees in an
outsourced company in a few weeks? A few months? I doubt it.
>What sort of hours can i expect to work?
The 60-minute kind; what's wrong with you? :^) If you're well-organized,
you can expect to work an eight hour day. That doesn't account for
developers who are too busy to give you the information that you need,
go-live dates that get drastically moved up, and last minute, emergency
projects that get dumped on you (YMMV).
>Can you work part time?
Maybe, but for me I've never seen that. As a matter of fact all of my
hiring managers have stressed "40 hours, on site".
>What is the salary range from min to max you can theoritically earn?
Tech writers don't get paid. Didn't you get your Altruism Club packet?
Here's the salary ranges that I have seen of late: $40,000-$90,000 (yearly),
$23-$65 (hourly).
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