Technical Writers

What the job really is

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

At a glance

• Sector: Arts, Design & Media
• O*NET-SOC code: 27-3042
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
• Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
• Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
• Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
• Interview production and engineering personnel and read journals and other material to become familiar with product technologies and production methods.
• Develop or maintain online help documentation.
• Assist in laying out material for publication.
• Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
• Arrange for typing, duplication, and distribution of material.
• Observe production, developmental, and experimental activities to determine operating procedure and detail.
• Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment.
• Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Atlassian Confluence, Atlassian JIRA, Autodesk AutoCAD, Cascading style sheets CSS, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Epic Systems, Extensible markup language XML

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Document Management Specialists
• Project Management Specialists
• Editors
• Management Analysts
• Proofreaders and Copy Markers
• Data Scientists
• Clinical Data Managers
• Social Science Research Assistants

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Technical Writers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.