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Ever since India woke up to an upsurge in Information Technology about a decade and a half ago, and subsequently became a hub of software exports to the whole world, millions of computer and engineering graduates have carved out great careers for themselves, bundling out software solutions day in and day out. However, in the early days, a software development company was happy to engage the services of engineers who could not just write several lines of code and test it but also create supporting documentation, interact with the client, and in extreme cases, even sell the software they created. Times have changed. These days, an integrated software solution, is the result of not just a lone stressed out engineer but the handiwork of programmers, testers, sales force, technical support staff, and host of other functions. But my interest in this write up is primarily a function that has grown with the industry, created great careers, managed a fair share of fortune in the IT goldmine (some highest paid professionals in the industry are technical writers, and yet remains elusive; Technical Writing!
Being married to it for some years now, I have delightfully observed it prosper. Though writing, with its different branches, has been well-known and respected since ages, the emergence of technical writers or technical communicators as some call it, is relatively new. I have always pondered about how technical writing or simply writing may have evolved through ages. The other day at the breakfast table with some of my esteemed colleagues (all technical writers), I accidentally triggered a similar discussion. In my usual boring and sometimes apparently contentious style, I leaped on every opportunity to suggest that we are writers first and technical afterwards. Hence, limiting our understanding only to the technology driven products, we were rendering extreme injustice to our own talents and skills. As writers, shouldn’t we aim at understanding everything under the sun that can be written about and then read? Aren’t we increasing our value and respect in this manner? As is customary to such discussions, I was confronted with several arguments debating the nuances of the trade.
Sadly, as it turns out, our vision appears shortsighted. The word technical has been taken so seriously or perhaps hyped that whenever we talk about a technical writer, it is assumed to be someone writing a user guide, install guide, white paper or something related, almost always for a software application (of course with very few notable exceptions). Note that elsewhere in US and Europe; writers cater to industries so diverse as health and medical care, manufacturing, education or academia, financial services, and insurance, among many others. That trend is yet to catch up here. If you can bring the same amount of versatility to your writing as is prevalent among these industries, you have carved a niche for yourself as a successful writer who is never short of opportunities and understandably money.
Ironically, it will be some years before technical writing comes to be recognized as a full-time and well-defined profession. Although almost every IT company (including big shots like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and Microsoft) employs full time technical writers and comes out with open advertisements inviting them, it still isn’t a primary profession of choice. The roots of this dilemma are numerous; unlike the west where Universities have full time courses in technical writing (U.S by the way is the largest employer of technical writers employing over a lakh of them), Indian institutions of higher education have shied away from recognizing it as a highly sought after skill. The result is career wise confused technical writers who accidentally get into this profession by virtue of a degree in English (most of the cases) or an Engineering or Computers degree.
Another disconcerting aspect is the mindset. The managements (with a few exceptions) do not consider the job of writing documentation worthy of their respect. The standard argument being “Who needs a document?” Or “Anyone can do it! What’s the big deal?” However, fact is otherwise. I have had the opportunity to work directly with customers during one of my earlier assignments. The company I was working for did not supply a user manual for a new product that was launched in the market (why this happened is another story) and I remember several irate customers getting to the phone immediately on receiving their product and screaming “why didn’t your damn company bother to throw a decent $20 user manual for a $1000 product”. In the upcoming version, the company had to create a friendly user documentation to salvage the lost reputation. Also, users are genuinely concerned about the errors (such as grammatical and spelling mistakes) in documentation. A carelessly written manual immediately tells the reader that the product he has spent his hard-earned money on was improvised by a bunch of dawdlers in their spare time. This is often true; for the first impression— which is made by the documentation—is the best. Numerous other examples substantiate the need for efficient user manuals. The efficiency and acceptance of technical products lies in the amount of attention to details that has gone into their manufacture. Bad documentation is the shortest and the surest route to disrepute.
According to the figures furnished by the Society for Technical Communication (STC) there are roughly 1500+ technical writers in India. Almost every organization is waking up to the fact that documentation is an integral part of their products since it helps users understand and use an otherwise complex product.
All said and done, writing of this nature is here to stay and it is time efforts were made to project it as a truly viable, long term and profitable profession. I can bet my money on the fact that almost everyone, who accidentally got into technical writing some few years back have come to regard it as the most enjoyable, stable and rewarding experience.
The trick is to be well informed, well read and being flexible in learning new concepts, tools, and technologies.
Being married to it for some years now, I have delightfully observed it prosper. Though writing, with its different branches, has been well-known and respected since ages, the emergence of technical writers or technical communicators as some call it, is relatively new. I have always pondered about how technical writing or simply writing may have evolved through ages. The other day at the breakfast table with some of my esteemed colleagues (all technical writers), I accidentally triggered a similar discussion. In my usual boring and sometimes apparently contentious style, I leaped on every opportunity to suggest that we are writers first and technical afterwards. Hence, limiting our understanding only to the technology driven products, we were rendering extreme injustice to our own talents and skills. As writers, shouldn’t we aim at understanding everything under the sun that can be written about and then read? Aren’t we increasing our value and respect in this manner? As is customary to such discussions, I was confronted with several arguments debating the nuances of the trade.
Sadly, as it turns out, our vision appears shortsighted. The word technical has been taken so seriously or perhaps hyped that whenever we talk about a technical writer, it is assumed to be someone writing a user guide, install guide, white paper or something related, almost always for a software application (of course with very few notable exceptions). Note that elsewhere in US and Europe; writers cater to industries so diverse as health and medical care, manufacturing, education or academia, financial services, and insurance, among many others. That trend is yet to catch up here. If you can bring the same amount of versatility to your writing as is prevalent among these industries, you have carved a niche for yourself as a successful writer who is never short of opportunities and understandably money.
Ironically, it will be some years before technical writing comes to be recognized as a full-time and well-defined profession. Although almost every IT company (including big shots like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and Microsoft) employs full time technical writers and comes out with open advertisements inviting them, it still isn’t a primary profession of choice. The roots of this dilemma are numerous; unlike the west where Universities have full time courses in technical writing (U.S by the way is the largest employer of technical writers employing over a lakh of them), Indian institutions of higher education have shied away from recognizing it as a highly sought after skill. The result is career wise confused technical writers who accidentally get into this profession by virtue of a degree in English (most of the cases) or an Engineering or Computers degree.
Another disconcerting aspect is the mindset. The managements (with a few exceptions) do not consider the job of writing documentation worthy of their respect. The standard argument being “Who needs a document?” Or “Anyone can do it! What’s the big deal?” However, fact is otherwise. I have had the opportunity to work directly with customers during one of my earlier assignments. The company I was working for did not supply a user manual for a new product that was launched in the market (why this happened is another story) and I remember several irate customers getting to the phone immediately on receiving their product and screaming “why didn’t your damn company bother to throw a decent $20 user manual for a $1000 product”. In the upcoming version, the company had to create a friendly user documentation to salvage the lost reputation. Also, users are genuinely concerned about the errors (such as grammatical and spelling mistakes) in documentation. A carelessly written manual immediately tells the reader that the product he has spent his hard-earned money on was improvised by a bunch of dawdlers in their spare time. This is often true; for the first impression— which is made by the documentation—is the best. Numerous other examples substantiate the need for efficient user manuals. The efficiency and acceptance of technical products lies in the amount of attention to details that has gone into their manufacture. Bad documentation is the shortest and the surest route to disrepute.
According to the figures furnished by the Society for Technical Communication (STC) there are roughly 1500+ technical writers in India. Almost every organization is waking up to the fact that documentation is an integral part of their products since it helps users understand and use an otherwise complex product.
All said and done, writing of this nature is here to stay and it is time efforts were made to project it as a truly viable, long term and profitable profession. I can bet my money on the fact that almost everyone, who accidentally got into technical writing some few years back have come to regard it as the most enjoyable, stable and rewarding experience.
The trick is to be well informed, well read and being flexible in learning new concepts, tools, and technologies.
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