What is technical communications?

Technical communications is a professional field that can be found in just about any industry. Technical communicators gather technical information about a product, service, or specialized subject, and present that information to a target audience in the form of white papers, technical specifications, web content, online help, business proposals, presentations, brochures, instruction manuals, reports, and a host of other materials. You know the manual that came with your car or with the software you're using on your computer? Chances are a technical communicator wrote them.

In their Public Relations FAQ, the Society for Technical Communications, the largest professional organization for technical communicators, includes the following professionals under the umbrella of technical communications:

Technical writers
Information developers
Web designers
Documentation specialists
Technical editors
Technical illustrators
Technical translators

No matter the title, the basic goal is the same, to present technical information, and while I've seen people be very adamant about their title, I've also seen terms like technical communicator and technical writer used interchangeably. It boils down to personal choice and how people market their skills. Chances are if you say technical writer, people will know what you're talking about. I use "technical writer" and "technical communicator" as synonyms throughout my web site mostly out of habit but the articles I cover are applicable to any of the above professions.

Some Statistics

The U.S. Department of Labor's "Occupational Outlook Handbook" puts the number of technical writers in the year 2000 at 57,000 persons in the United States. The same handbook puts the median annual earnings for salaried technical writers at US$47,790. As of September, 2003, Salary.com puts the median expected salary for an entry-level technical writer (tech writer I) at around US$43,000. It puts the median expected salary for senior-level technical writer (tech writer IV) at US$66,000.

Adding Value

Good technical communicators are able to gather technical information and present it in a form that their target audience understands. They add value to a product or service by predicting user needs and tying the product or service in with those needs. While anyone in a company can learn these skills, good technical writers already have them, in addition to experience, and an understanding of the target audience that others in the company just don't have. This requires a variety of skills depending on the kind of technical information a technical writer is working with. I present my own opinions about the kinds of skills a technical writer needs on this Web site.

It's important to note that that article is slanted towards the computer industry, but many of the skills that I discuss are important regardless of the industry.