3 Levels and 3 Technical Writing Profiles

If you’re wondering what levels you can expect to achieve in a technical writing career, here are 3 profiles just to give you a rough idea.

Do not forget that this is only a rough image and it does not mean that you have to go through each level in exactly the same way.

Perhaps you can start from the Intermediate level if you bring with you a strong background in software skills and work experience.

Or who knows, you could reach a higher level in just 5 years? That is certainly possible too.

Individual cases always vary. But I think what follows is still a useful big picture in terms of giving you a general survey of the technical writing landscape and providing some general benchmarks. They are not based on any scientific study but on my personal experience of more than 10 years as a technical writer.

Please let me know if you have any questions about these professional profiles.

Profile 1: Junior Level Technical Writer

time at work: 0-5 years

Working skills:

• Writing interface documentation, including user guides, installation guides, quick reference guides, release notes, help files.
• No supervisory or management skills.
• Elective: graphic and illustration skills.

Software Skills:

• Microsoft Office suite
• Optional: FrameMaker (unstructured)
• Optional: Photoshop
• Optional: illustrator
• Optional: help file editor (RoboHelp, Flare, Quadralay, DoctoHelp, etc.)
• Optional: version control software (MS Source Safe, etc.)

Profile 2: Intermediate level technical writer

Time at work: 5-10 years

Working skills:

• Writing and editing interface and how-to documentation, including user guides, installation guides, quick reference guides, release notes, system configuration guides, help files.
• Structured and single-source authorship.
• Graphic design skills, illustration, print-page and web.
• Assist projects as a head writer and supervise one or more junior writers.
• Optional: simple localization and translation skills for documents and websites.
• Optional: Publish articles in popular professional journals such as STC Intercom.
• Optional: serve as a Jury in professional technical communication contests.

Software Skills:

• Microsoft Office suite
• FrameMaker (unstructured and structured)
• photoshop
• illustrator
• Help file editor (RoboHelp, Flare, Quadralay, DoctoHelp, etc.)
• Version control software (MS Source Safe, etc.)
• Optional: Advanced version and content management software (Agile, etc.)
• Optional: Dreamweaver and/or HTML coding

Profile 3: Senior Level Technical Writer

Time at work: more than 10 years

Working skills:

• Writing and editing interface and how-to documentation, including user guides, installation guides, quick reference guides, release notes, system configuration guides, help files, API guides.
• Structured and single source authoring, including DITA structuring and database publishing.
• Graphic design skills, illustration, print-page and web.
• Lead projects as a head writer and supervise one or more junior and senior writers.
• Advanced localization skills for print and online documentation projects.
• Publishing articles in peer-reviewed professional journals such as STC’s Technical Communication.
• Optional: act as Main Jury in professional technical communication competitions.

Software Skills:

• Microsoft Office suite
• FrameMaker (unstructured and structured)
• photoshop
• illustrator
• Help file editor (RoboHelp, Flare, Quadralay, DoctoHelp, etc.)
• Version control software (MS Source Safe, etc.)
• Optional: Advanced version and content management software (Agile, etc.)
• Optional: Dreamweaver and/or HTML coding
• Optional: XML editor (FrameMaker, Arbortext, Oxygen, etc.)
• Optional: database post editor (TEX, PatternStream, etc.)