Memo. Overview. Introduction. To: Dánielle Nicole DeVoss From: LeeAnn Connelly Re: Technical Writing Date: September 26, 2013

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1 Memo To: Dánielle Nicole DeVoss From: LeeAnn Connelly Re: Technical Writing Date: September 26, 2013 Overview This memo explores the meaning of professional writing in the technical world. It will discuss technical writing as a career, and what exactly that entails. I will use various sources to define technical writing, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and job postings for technical writers in the engineering field. Overall I examine what a technical writer does, and what skills and traits help them to do it. Introduction As a college student, one of the questions I am most used to hearing is what is you major? It is a question that follows me everywhere. Teachers and parents, friends and relatives, even my dentist has asked on more than one occasion. Sometimes it is asked in genuine curiosity, other times simply to make small talk, but it is always a question that hold meaning. In many ways, asking a college student their major is an adult equivalent to the common question for children: what do you want to be when you grow up? In just a few short sentences, you are asked to define what your skill set is and what you hope to do with it. When I changed my major from engineering to professional writing, I discovered that answering questions about my major had suddenly become much more difficult. Everyone knows what an engineer studies, as well as what sort of jobs an engineer can find. Professional writing, however, is not so well known. More often than not, telling someone my major now results in further questions, or even blank stares. Friends and relatives understand that writing can be a profession, but are very unsure about what I am learning and how I will use it. For some time after changing my major, I found I had trouble answering the extra questions that now came with my major. However at Michigan State's spring convocation, the student speaker, a Professional Writing major, defined herself as an Engineer or Words. This definition stuck with me; it rang true as a wonderful combination of my past and future majors. Not only did it finally give me the words to define my new major to my family, it also gave me new inspiration to combine my engineering background with my writing major. Technical writing is the perfect combination of my engineering and writing classes. While engineers do excellent technical work, they may lack the skill to properly communicate their work with their various audiences. That's where technical writers come in: as professional writers who understand both the complex technical information as well as how to share that information with those who need it.

2 Analysis and Results Connelly 2 Technical Writing Overview Technical writing can be defined as communicating in a technical field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests technical writers may also be called technical communicators, as they create documents to communicate complex and technical information more easily. They communicate both internally and externally, writing instruction manuals, documenting technical projects, and presenting reports to staff and customers (Bureau). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following qualities are necessary to a technical writer: Writing skills Technical skill Communication skills Imagination Ability to work in a team Attention to detail In addition to writing, technical, and communication skills, technical writers must have imagination. Their job is to take complicated, detailed, and technical information and translate it for colleagues and consumers who have nontechnical backgrounds (Bureau). Documents must be well written, and a technical understanding of the topic is required, but these skills are worthless without the ability to think about a procedure or product in the way that a person without technical experience would think about it and communicate the information they need in a way they can understand. Technical writers are almost always working in a group. They work with engineers, scientists, programmers, and other people in today's vastly technical world. They work on a project from start to finish: working with project developers to determine required documentation, working with staff to make products easier to use, and thus need fewer instructions, and creating operating instructions, how-to manuals, assembly instructions, and frequently asked questions pages to help customers (Bureau). Because they work with multiple people in different fields, they must be able to communicate effectively with coworkers of various technical knowledge. A large part of being a technical writer is writing instructions and manuals for products. This requires a strong attention to detail. A product is worthless without proper knowledge of how to use it. If a writer misses a step or assumes the customer knows more than they do, a product could be damaged or a customer could be injured. Job Opportunities According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities for a technical writing career will continue to increase in the coming years. It predicts a 17% increase in technical writing jobs from Demand for technical writers comes from the growing reliance on technologically sophisticated products in the home and the workplace and the increasing complexity of medical and scientific information needed for daily living (Bureau). Technology is an enormous part of everyday routine now, and that technology requires documents written for people of all levels of technical understanding.

3 Connelly 3 To get a more practical look at what technical writers do in the workplace, as well as where I would fit into this field, I researched technical writings positions available in the engineering field. I discovered a variety of companies searching for a writer to perform various duties. It appears that technical writers are in demand in the engineering world. While engineers excel with technology, that doesn t necessarily mean they are good technical writers (Crawford). Some of the companies looking for a technical writer include: Genentech, a pharmaceutical company Dayton T. Brown Inc., an engineering and technical company in aerospace and defense AUSCO Inc., a leading supplier of precision fluid control components for military and commercial aircraft UTC Aerospace Systems, a supplier of aerospace and defense products Collabera, a financial technology provider Rosetta Stone, a language software company Toyota, a major vehicle company In just this short list, a broad range of companies that require a technical writer are shown. The projects technical writers work on can involve anything from cars to planes to pharmaceutical products. These opportunities occur across the country, from California to New York, as well as across the world, from London to Abu Dhabi. In the job postings for these companies, a wide variety of duties and responsibilities that technical writers undertake are listed. They include: Prioritize assigned tasks within a fast paced environment (Senior) Effectively track and communicate, ideas, project goals, results, and status of document changes ( Senior Identify areas for document management process improvements and propose resolutions (Senior) Engineering liaison, research and development (Writers) Coordinate the writing projects design, specifications and layout (Reliability ) Partner with facility, engineering, and safety teams to develop safety procedures (Engineering) Interview subject matter experts to collect the technical information needed to write content (Rosetta) Collaborate with publications, internal communication and social media team members (Content) Work with sources to translate bureaucratic or technical jargon into meaningful, readable messages (Content) These needs highlight the skills and characteristics needed for technical writing. They also closely match the qualities listed previously: writing, technical, and communication skills, imagination, ability to work in a team, and attention to detail. Writing content, translating technical vocabulary, communicating ideas, creating meaningful documents, collaborating with coworkers, and prioritizing duties are all real-world applications of the abstract values defining technical writers.

4 Conclusions Connelly 4 At the beginning of this paper I offered the definition of professional writers as engineers of words. The definition is fitting in many ways. Through the sources I have provided, I have shown technical writers to embody many of the characteristics that many people would associate with engineers. While engineers must have the imagination to envision a new product, as well as the technical knowledge, teamwork abilities, and focus on detail to complete it, professional writers must use these skills to write effectively. The combination of the engineering and professional writing fields through technical writing is only logical. As the world relies more and more on technology in daily life, technical information needs to be communicated to vastly increasing numbers of people. This means that when an engineer creates a product, there must be someone who can effectively communicate with those who will fund, create, and use it. Personally, I feel that technical writing is a viable option for me. It would be a perfect way to utilize the years of engineering classes I took while still doing what I love: writing.

5 References Connelly 5 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Edition, Technical Writers, Web. 30 Sept 2013 < Crawford, Mark. "How Engineers Can Improve Technical Writing." ASME.org. ASME, Sept Web. 30 Sept < "Senior Technical Editor Writer." Gene.com. Genentech, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < jtsrc= "Technical Writers / Engineering Writers." Monster.com. Monster, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < "Technical Writer / Reliability Engineer." Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < "Engineer Technical Writer." Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < "Technical Writer." Engineering Jobs. Collabera Inc., n.d. Web. 30 Sept < job_did=jhr5yp6zv919xqj64dg>. "Technical Writer." Rosettastone.com. Rosetta Stone, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < "Writer/Content Specialist." Writer/Content Specialist. Toyota, n.d. Web. 30 Sept < adid=yw15lndyb2jszxdza2kumzm4mzcumtc2mebrzwxsew9jzy5hcgxpdhjhay5 jb20>.