RE: Career paths of lone technical writers

[Michele Marques <MarquesM -at- autros -dot- com>]

Bruce Byfield writes:

> So far as I can see, any tech-writer has four main choices:

> - Stay doing the same thing (a popular choice, I suspect, because it
allows for 
> flexibility)

> - Become a documentation manager (in the case of a lone writer, I am
assuming that new 
> writers are hired)

> - Become an independent contractor, possibly hiring other writers (a more
independent 
> and stressful way of becoming a documentation manager)

> - Use writing as a stepping stone to another position, such as product
manager or 
> marketing manager.

I would add an additional choice:

- Become a specialist in some particular subject matter (either because of
prior background or further training/education). Some specialists can earn
higher salaries. For example, people who have a programming / I.T.
background and can write for that audience can sometimes command a higher
salary than a generic technical writer. There may be other areas where
specialized knowledge can also help.


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Michele Marques, Technical Communicator
AUTROS Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
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