What are
Technical Writer Jobs?
Need
information management technical writer jobs and want some practical
suggestions about responsibilities, qualifications and salaries?
A
technical writer is frequently responsible for creating and maintaining
technical documentation such as user guides, and training material.
How can they
help on an information management project?
Information
management projects are data centric. The majority of documentation is
technical and not user facing however, there are lots of opportunities
to make effective use of a technical writer with the skills required to
translate complex “jargon” into easily understandable verbiage.
Planning
documentation
The
project manager is responsible for project planning and for creating
the project implementation plan—This plan is comprised of a series of
sub-plans, which impact many or all stakeholders.
An information management project manager should have the skills
necessary to create the plans and to document them. They sometimes
create technical writer jobs, especially if the project manager is
working on a part-time basis.
A technical writer can provide tremendous help to a project team
by
helping to document and maintain planning documentation such as:
- Communications plan;
- Risk management plan;
- Change management plan;
- Quality assurance plan;
- Requirements management plan;
- Document management plan; and
- Defect management plan.
Design
specifications
Many
companies are moving towards telecommuting and offshore development
teams. If is critical that all design documentation conform
to
standards and be well written to avoid confusion.
The
architects and designers are responsible for creating the design
specifications but a good technical writer can help by ensuring
consistency and clarity.
Operations
documentation
An
information management project will involve much operational work and
it is important that operational procedures be concisely documented and
written in a format that ensures no ambiguity. Typical operations
documentation includes run-time procedures but may also include things
like help desk procedures and security breach, or incident, procedures.
User
documentation and training material
This
is a typical area that requires help. Users will usually need to access
new functionality and well-written instructions can reduce the number
of “panic” calls to the help desk.
What
qualifications are required for technical writer jobs?
A
good technical writer requires the ability to create, understand and
communicate technical material in a concise and effective manner.
This position typically requires:
- A
bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field with a minimum
of four to five years of information management related
technical
writing experience; and
- A good knowledge of information management
concepts.
Communications
skills are vital—Information management teams are comprised of highly
skilled team members with diverse experience and it is important to be
able to understand technical challenges.
What are
salaries expectations for technical writer jobs?
Experienced technical writers with 4-6 years of
related data warehousing
experience should expect to earn $50,000-65,000 plus benefits
and some form of bonus.
What are
contract employee salary expectations?
Contract
employees can expect to earn anywhere from $50 to $60 per hour.
However, this is the amount that is paid to the staffing
company. The amount the contract employee receives will depend upon the
fee demanded by the resource-staffing firm.
Can this
work be done part time?
Definitely!
We have the technology today to allow remote work situations and this
kind of work is ideal for a part time basis. This should be considered
as a cost saving measure.
Summary…
Information management projects are data centric and require highly
skilled IT specialists to fill technical writer jobs.
A good technical writer should be considered to help ensure clear, well
written, documentation.
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