Statewide occupation search

Sort your search results or select and compare details of two occupations. Find out if an occupation is in demand or not in demand in your local area, at Learn about an occupation.

Statewide occupation search

Technical Writers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

Related: Clinical Data Managers Document Management Specialists Editors Management Analysts Project Management Specialists

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Arts & Entertainment Media & Communication Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
Arrange for typing, duplication, and distribution of material.
Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.
Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.
Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
Assist in laying out material for publication.
Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment.
Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
Interview production and engineering personnel and read journals and other material to become familiar with product technologies and production methods.
Draw sketches to illustrate specified materials or assembly sequence.
Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure and detail.
Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
Confer with customer representatives, vendors, plant executives, or publisher to establish technical specifications and to determine subject material to be developed for publication.
Develop or maintain online help documentation.
Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure and detail.

Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.

Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

93230/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

44.82/hr

Currently Employed

2,430

Yearly Projected Openings

260

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Cooperation
Independence
Initiative

Desktop computers
Digital cameras
High capacity removable media drives
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Scanners

Analytical or scientific software
Application server software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer based training software
Configuration management software
Content workflow software
Data base reporting software
Data base user interface and query software
Data mining software
Desktop communications software
Desktop publishing software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
File versioning software
Financial analysis software
Graphical user interface development software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Instant messaging software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Web page creation and editing software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Find Technical Writers jobs Education and Training for Technical Writers

Statewide occupation search

Statewide occupation search

Technical Writers

Work Activities

Skills

Abilities

Knowledge

Education

Pay

Washington Employment Trends

Personality

Tools

Technology

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES