A technical writer (sometimes called a technical communicator) designs, writes, edits, and produces documents for scientific, technical, industrial, and government organizations. These documents can include technical reports, specifications, reference manuals, operating instructions, policies and procedures, proposals, presentations, brochures, and Web pages.

Goals and Skills Required

The main aim of a technical writer is to communicate scientific and technical information to other people using easily understandable language. To be a technical writer, a person needs strong language skills, demonstrated by college-level training. A college degree in English, journalism, or communication is preferred, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The person also should also have some familiarity with scientific or technical topics. Finally, the person should have experience using word processing and desktop publishing software, graphics programs, and Web publishing tools.

Specially trained people began to be employed as technical writers in the late 1930s. Prior...