Get Started as a Technical Writer in 30 Days
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2024
- This video discussed how to put together a technical writing portfolio and start looking for jobs. It tells you where to go and how to develop more skills.
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00:00 Introduction
00:20 Research Local Technical Writer Jobs
00:53 Read The Flipping Manuals
01:13 Learn How to Write a Procedure
01:26 Study the Microsoft Style Guide
01:43 piece of software to write about
02:12 writing tool that you will master
03:35 Get on LinkedIn and post your projects
04:19 Get Certifications
04:43 Pick up small jobs
05:12 Apply for big jobs
05:38 Keep Going
I cannot begin to express how good this guide is. I had one tech writing internship and then found myself "out in the cold" without a clue how to get going in this field that I know so little about. Thanks for the insight!
I'm so glad I could help. Good luck on your job search!
how is it going so far?
@@user-mw6gc6dv8w ended up senior editor for an online publication instead🤣those tech writer jobs are rare nowadays
Thank you for this. It’s a good guide for someone like me trying to get out of teaching into technical writer.
I’m glad you found it useful.
Thank you John for this! You have no idea how much of a blessing this is. 🙏🏾
You are welcome. I'm glad I could help.
Love that its too the point and feels like actionable steps.
No distracting fluff
Thank you!
You did such an amazing job with this! Extremely small tech jargon, easy to understand, implement and follow. I have watched so many tech videos and it's like they're talking to people who are already doing the job. Thank you so much for sharing this, it's made it easier for me to move into tech and to do what I love in the field.
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Thank you so much. It's a wonderful guide.
So happy I could help. Good luck!
Thanks a lot for posting this video. It really helped me! YOU ROCK!
Glad it helped!
Thank you so much! This really was of help, I look forward to your future videos!❤
Happy to be of help.
Thank you John.
You are welcome!
Brilliant video, thank you!
Thank you!
Veery helpful! thank you! more tech writing content please!
I've been sick, or I would already have some out there. Coming soon...
Thank you so much for sharing dear sir.
My pleasure
This was very helpful. Thank you
I'm glad I could help!
Thank you for the guide! It's really helpful
Happy to help!
Hey John, thanks for the great content. I was recently ask to start documenting apps and features in my team, I have a technical background but no experience with technical writing. Your content just pointed me to the right direction. You are very objective, concise and pleasant to follow.
I'm glad you liked it!
Super informative!
I'm glad you liked it!
This was very informative and encouraging. Thank you
Thanks for commenting!
Hi, Im fel from Philipppines, currently working full time in a construction company as a Civil Engineer. Im very much interested to explore a VA position and technical writing is my first skill to enhance. Thank you for this gem, very simple, straight to the point and very informative.
Good luck with your search!
i have been trying to improve coding and find a job for about two years. It has been very tough. I found your video and it looks very interesting. I will definitely dive more into the subject
Good luck on your journey to a career!
I wish I'd found this guide first. This has been very clear cut and helpful. Thank you!
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. Good luck!
Thank you so much for this! This is exactly what I was looking for 🙂
Glad it was helpful!
I just started a web full stack course and just recently found out technical writing. I intend to code in the near to future, but technical wiriting seems a very interesting career to me as well. Great content!
I considered coding early on, but I'm all about content. Good luck!
Thank you!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
Really awesome tip's
I hope they help.
Wow this is great
I'm glad you liked it!
Would love to see more content related to this! There’s a significant dearth of tech writing content on RUclips, and it’s certainly a dream job of mine after a few years of student journalism and some content mill work on the side during my tech recruiting career.
Thanks. I'll see what I can do.
Thank you so much. It’s an amazing guide.
Thank you. I'm glad you found it useful.
great tips , gimp and write software, thanx
You got it!
Thank you
You are welcome!
Thank you for this, very helpful. Recent college grad and I’m trying to get my foot in the door for technical writing.
Happy to help!
What type degree are you
going for? And major
@@sarahelsaleh139 Communications focus in journalism.
Good info thanks
Glad it was helpful!
thank you
You are welcome!
This was extremely helpful thank you, I looked up the tools you mentioned and they are expensive if you're just starting out and I feel stuck
Hi LL,
I agree, some of the tools are pricey. When I first decided I wanted to be a Technical Writer back in the dark ages (mid 1990s), the must-have tool was FrameMaker, which was about $500 new. I got around this by finding a used $50 version.
This is harder to do these days. For learning purposes though, you can almost always find a free alternative that does about the same thing. I'm not sure what platform you are on, but if it is Windows, look into the following:
Gimp: Free image editing program
Open Office and Libre Office: Free tool similar to Microsoft Office
Wordpress is a tool you can get started on for free at Wordpress.com.
Also, a lot of tools, like Articulate, have a 30-day free trial. You can take advantage of that to learn as much as possible. Be sure to only start a free trial when you know you have some hours set aside to try the tool out.
I hope that helps,
John
Thanks
You are welcome!
Hi John!
Can you please give an advice about LinkedIn certificates - what courses are relevant and "valuable" for the technical writer's CV? What courses do you like personally?
Hi Natalia,
I would suggest that you see what tools are being used in your area and look for courses based on those tools. for general courses I would suggest:
Technical Writing: Quick Start Guides
Writing in Plain English
Tips for Better Business Writing
Writing a Proposal
UX Foundations: Content Strategy
Building Online Communities
Making User Experience Happen as a Team
Instructional Design: Working with SMEs
Components of Effective Learning
Good luck!
Excellent video! Do you still recommend learning the same tools that you mention in this video a year and a half later?
The tools are all still valid. I may address AI in an upcoming video.
Hi I'm an aspiring technical writer and I must say I'm so glad I found your content. I just delved into that world. I would love to exchange mails with you and hopefully pick your brain in the process.
Hi Paul. I do not give out my email, but am happy to answer questions here.
@@JohnHewittpoewar Oh hi I understand and I do appreciate your response.
I'm looking to get into tech via tech writing. I don't own a PC but I'm learning with my phone while I save up from my day job to get a PC. My question is can I continue to learn and build portfolios with my phone in the meantime or it's not feasible and what also what kind of projects or portfolios can I do on my smartphone and I'd appreciate any resources/material or course certification you might wanna recommend.
Thank you !
@@paulalba9244 Hi Paul. That is a bit of a puzzle, and I suggest you get a PC as soon as possible. You can often find very cheap used ones at thrift stores. In the meantime, I would look at documenting a smartphone app, since you can get appropriate screenshots from your phone.
@@JohnHewittpoewar Yeah I thought so too, thank you very much, I'd continue to work on that...On the documentation of a smartphone app could you expound on that a bit pls ? You mean like an App requirement document or how an App works ?
You can certainly try either but I was thinking of a guide. Most apps don't have them. You can describe hot to accomplish various tasks as well as explain the general uses of the app.
Hello John, I want to explore this field of Technical writing. I have an experience in Copy Editing and Content Writing, but after a gap of 5 years, I am really concerned how to begin afresh. Could you please let me know what courses/tools do I need to learn as a Beginner? I am also looking out for jobs as an intern/volunteer - how do I approach the companies ? Thanks!
If you're looking for a ton of advice about entering the field. I would Recommend Tom Johnson's site idratherbewriting.com/
He has been writing about the industry for fifteen years at least and will give you a ton of information.
@@JohnHewittpoewar This will help me a lot! Thanks, John.
Hi John, what would you say the biggest difference is between being a freelance technical writer and a long term employee technical writer? I'm interested in becoming a freelance technical writer, mainly because I would like to have more worklife balance. What are your thoughts on that kind of goal?
Freelance writing has more potential for income than regular employment, but the key word there is "potential". You have to scramble to make a living freelancing. I am happy to have regular employment at this stage of my life, especially with a company that has good benefits.
@@JohnHewittpoewar would you say Comptia A+ is a good certification to have if one has no experience in technical writing and is transitioning over from Marketing?
@@Uniquaization I don't have any personal knowledge of the group, but they seem to have a good reputation.
This video was very helpful. I would like to start building my portfolio but I keep doubting myself on what software to write on. Do I need to write on software that has little or no documentation for my portfolio or is writing guides on popular software (for example VS Code Editor) with a lot of documentation available still appropriate since I will be writing it in my own style? I fear that an employer would look at my portfolio and say that I am not original. Am I overthinking this?
I lean toward writing documentation for products that aren't well documented, but there is no hard and fast rule. Document what you are comfortable writing about.
This is so good and helpful for a beginner like me, however I have a small question.
I've googled what a procedure is, but I've not really seen a clear definition of what it is in relation to technical writing. Can you please explain what it is?
A procedure is the a list of the steps the user has to take to complete a task of some sort.
Step 1: Do this
Step 2: Do that
Step 3: See the results
Additonally, the procedure may list prerequisites or other requirements that must be met before the user can complete the procedure.
This web page, for example, is about a procedure.
help.quicken.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=3216834
I am here because I want to understand why iso27k is writing in such an obscure way (as opposed to the very succinct and logical approach in many blogs written by pentsters). So that I can read them with the right lens without too much headache.
I don't have much experience with ISO, and what little I did is at least 20 years expired. Good luck!
I really am interested in being a technical writer but I’m super confused as to what all the roles and duties of a technical writer are.
I love writing and making presentations easy to read and enjoyable. I’m currently an English teacher but am tired of struggling to make rent month to month. Is there anything specific that a technical writer needs to master before looking for work?
Thank you, any advice is much appreciated!
Having Tools knowledge and a solid understanding of a technical field such as software development or engineering is important.
Can we use latex to write??
You can use the tool. There are a few companies on it, but I do not see many places looking for writers who know it.
would you recommend learning SharePoint?
I do have Sharepoint training, which I got at the request of my last employer (they paid). It is a valuable skill, but when I started looking for my next job, I can honestly say nobody sought me out for SharePoint positions or asked about it, so from a personal perspective, it hasn't helped.
@@JohnHewittpoewar that's odd! I found a job or 2 seeking it.... although I'm just learning. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙏
That's great! Different places have different markets. I'm glad you found some work and that is very encouraging for continuing.
Could I get an actual job with in a month or just freelance work?
That would depend on a lot of factors such as relative past experience and the market you are in. Contract employment would is usually the fastest route to getting a first gig.
@@JohnHewittpoewar do you do consultations?
@@ELgeneral-pl9yg Sorry, I don't.
how about writing assistants
I don't have much knowledge in that area.
thank you
Glad you found it useful.