Choosing the right words—explaining a procedure, writing instructions, marketing a product—is paramount to reader comprehension and participation. And this is where creativity and joy enter the act of writing. Should I choose “specify” or “indicate” for a line of Help text? Should I express a product’s worth with the word “amazing” or perhaps “sweet” to appeal to youth?
Could this kind of scrutiny to word choice apply to a job search as well? A technical writer by any other name might not find the job they’re skilled at and searching for. It seems that employers in the software industry, for whatever reason, recognize a technical writer for what they can do and recruit them as such. I have found that most technical writing job postings are for composing software manuals or online help—jobs directly bundled into the creation of software product. The same does not hold true for sectors like biotechnology, and ultimately confusion abounds. Employers often don’t ask for technical writers by name in job postings. And technical writers may find it difficult to recognize positions they’re perfectly skilled at if these jobs are listed as “documentation specialist” or “communications coordinator.”
Vancouver Top in Biotech within North America
But jobs for technical writers in every sector undoubtedly exist, especially in Lower Mainland industries recognized as top within North America, such as biotechnology. The Vancouver Economic Development Commission, BC Biotech and Discovery Parks Inc. released a report, Vancouver: A North American Biotechnology Centre, in October 2002. It revealed that although Vancouver (including the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island) receives only a tiny portion of relative research funding compared to other American cities, it has become one of the fastest-growing biotech regions in North America.
With such a high ranking, there are bound to be numerous jobs requiring the expert skills of technical communicators within such areas as therapeutics, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Yet, search for “technical writer” on any job-finding search engine and opportunities with software companies invariably result. Until employers in other sectors understand what a technical writer can contribute, and until technical writers can recognize where they’re needed, the two may continue to miss each other. Employers need to learn what “technical writer” means and we writers need to market ourselves by titles other than “technical writer.” The essence of what we do without the title will remain.
