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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: Document Management Specialists Editors Management Analysts Project Management Specialists Proofreaders & Copy Markers

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

Summary
Details

Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.
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.
Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment.
Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.
Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
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.
Assist in laying out material for publication.
Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
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.
Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure and detail.
Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure 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.

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

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

Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
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.

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:

Intellectual Curiosity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Achievement Orientation

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

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Technical Writers

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