Career option in technical writing

Ranjan K Baruah *

Writing is passion for many and people who are passionate about writing chose professions like writer, journalist or content writer, etc. There are many other options available for people who are interested and passionate about writing.

Like content writing there is another area called technical writing or technical writer.

Technical writing is writing or drafting technical communication used in technical and occupational fields, such as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics, finance, medical, consumer electronics, biotechnology, and forestry. Technical writing encompasses the largest sub-field within technical communication.

The Society for Technical Communication defines technical communication as any form of communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
communicating about technical or specialized topics,
such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations;
communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites;
or providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is.

There is no doubt that technical writing is a growing career and quite interesting for young people. The demand for technical writer is growing and there should be more growth in coming years.

There is more advantage for people who come from science back ground to be a successful technical writer as they can understand scientific terms easily. However students from other stream may also come and become technical writer provided they have the basic understanding and idea.

The job sketch of a technical writer is to organize instruction or operating manuals and other similar documents. These documents could be for internal use or for industrial customers or general customers. There are opportunities to work with technical organisations or commercial organisation and also with different manufacturers of technical products.

Updates:

Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship 2019: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India invites the applications from the UG and PG degree holders in the fields of Engineering, Law, Medicine, Social Sciences, etc. from a recognized university for Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship 2019.

The two-year fellowship seeks to combine classroom sessions at IIM Bangalore with an intensive field immersion at the district level to create credible plans and identify barriers in raising employment, economic output, and promote livelihoods in rural areas. The selected fellows will get monthly stipend up to INR 60,000 and aspirants may apply before 20th November.

CDSE(I) 2020: A Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2020 will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 2nd February and candidates should apply online by using the website http://upsconline.nic.in. The Competitive examination comprises of written examination and interview for intelligence and personality test.

For Admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy and Air Force Academy , subjects includes English ( 2 Hours duration and carries 100 marks ) ; General Knowledge ( 2 Hours duration and carries 100 marks) and Elementary Mathematics (2 Hours duration and carries 100 marks ) .

However for admission to Officers’ Training Academy one need to appear in subject like English (2 Hours duration and carries 100 marks ) and General Knowledge ( 2 Hours duration and carries 100 marks ) . Candidates may apply on or before 19th November.

MEXT Scholarship: The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is inviting applications from international PG, MBA and Post Doctoral applicants for MEXT Scholarship (University Recommendation) 2019 who wish to pursue their studies from Asia Pacific University (APU).

This scholarship is awarded to outstanding international students who are recommended by APU. The selected scholars will get a 100% tuition fee waiver and other financial benefits. Aspirants may apply before 19th November.