Tech Writer Today Magazine - TechWhirl
Technical writing and technical communications news, articles and resources for technical writers and technical communicators.
One year ago, I graduated from Portland State University with a Master’s in Technical Writing, and set out into the world, sure that a career as a professional writer was within my grasp. Then reality showed its ugly head – I was going into the expertise-heavy world of technical writing with a piece of paper and little practical experience. Every job listing included the soul-killing phrase “5-10 years of experience preferred”. Continue reading ...
Technical Communication jobs span all industries. When you are looking for your next role, don’t forget to look at possibilities in the not-for-profit, academic, defense and government industries. You never know you could align your volunteering (yes, Technical Communicators do volunteer and benefit from doing so) with your next job. Continue reading ...
The Technical Communication job market is ripe with new job possibilities, from Instructional Designers, Content Managers and Technical Writers. New York, Houston, San Francisco and Chicago all have opportunities for you! Continue reading ...
Part 2 of deciding whether to make the freelancing rate discusses one of the most challenging areas of freelancing—how to set your rate—and gives some examples to work with. You have two primary ways of charging your clients: by project and by hour. They each have their pros and cons and I actually suggest a combination of the two. Continue reading ...
While Hurricane Sandy ran its course of destruction through the north east, the Technical Communication job community saw little to no impact on the active jobs market. There are jobs listings for Technical Writers, Content Developers and more. Continue reading ...
Halloween weekend brings you a review of the TechComm Jobs spanning industries and countries. Search for the right technical communication job for you. We have technical writer roles in Durham, North Carolina, St Petersburg, Florida, Dallas, Texas and San Francisco, California plus many more locations. Continue reading ...
In the fall of 2011, I had a job where I loved the work, loved my boss, loved the company and hated my job. The reason was simple. I had lost any balance between work and the rest of my life. Looking back, I see what happened. Early successes in streamlining processes and improving productivity earned me greater responsibility, respect and raises, but no additional resources. I gave up whole parts of my life in five or ten minute increments over ten years ... Continue reading ...
Like most thinking about the leap to fulltime freelancing, I had the dream of working at the local coffee shop sipping hot chocolate and working hard on the latest software documentation. My phone would ring with a new client that saw my website and just had to have my services. Then I made the plunge into freelancing while caring for my newborn, and had to wake up from that lovely dream. Continue reading ...
Back when I was taking my technical writing certificate at Seneca College in Toronto, one of my professors spent three hours chatting with us about what it’s like being a freelance technical writer. She laughed a lot about the highs and lows, but a few things she said jolted me out of my assumptions and made me sit up and pay attention. One of them was that she would take literally any job that had anything remotely to do with editing, writing, or teaching. Or websites. Or technology. Or people. Or extreme ironing. Let me share what else I’ve learned as I’ve transitioned from student to full-time employee to part-time consultant to full-time consultant over the last eight years, while balancing three houses, two cities, one wedding, and two kids. Continue reading ...