Career Change Help: Technical Writing Courses

Lvbirdie on 15/06/2016 - 10:52

Hi all,
I need help finding a reputable course for Technical writing. I am one year away from my 10 years long service and once I reach that I would like to change careers. In my current role I’ve done a bit of Technical writing (nothing official) and I am keen to go down that path. Problem is, I can’t find any courses related that seem genuine (plenty of dodgy online courses).

I have a journalism degree from around 15 years ago but I never followed that path once I graduated. I’ve been looking at jobs advertised for Technical writers and see lots of references on specific procedures and programs I’m not familiar with so that’s why I am looking for courses related.

Thanks

Education & Work

Comments

  • ssx on 20/06/2016 - 07:54

    What kind of specific procedures and programs have you seen listed in job listings?

    If it's what I'm thinking, I don't think there is a single course that will cover everything that you're looking for.

    Are you changing careers within the same company? Or leaving altogether? Depending on your work situation, they might agree to ta few small training courses or to let you move to the new role without formal qualifications.

  • vbirdie on 20/06/2016 - 15:28

    thanks for responding. author-it was one that has been mentioned a couple of times. Most job ads specify tertiary/tech writing accreditation but I cannot find any. i found wiring course from Tafe but that covered a whole range of subjects not just in relation to tech writing.

    i want to leave altogether. i have another year so want to start studying/updating my qualifications before moving on.

  • ssx on 20/06/2016 - 15:48

    You could look at doing one or two post-grad units at a university (online or correspondence).

    It is difficult to get a recognized qualification. This website was used quite a bit for training resources in my old company http://www.techwriter.com.au/news/Training_courses.htm#Techn…

    The problem is that you can do a general 3 day course on the basics of technical writing techniques, grammer etc, but a lot of jobs require experience with particular authoring programs like Madcap Flare, FrameMaker and other authoring programs. If you can find an entry level job (I don't know if your situation will allow) where they can train you, it will make a big difference. Tech writing is niche and quite sought after, so any experience will look good on your resume.

    Is there a particular area of tech writing you are looking at? It might help if picked an area, such as Tech writing for software/computers or medical tech writing, business tech writing. After picking a focus area, see what the job ads ask for in terms of authoring tools and do a short course in that.

    I found a lot of IT-based tech writing wants knowledge of XML, possible knowledge of programming methodologies, and experience with XML/online authoring tools, such as Madcap Flare.

    I hope some of this made sense!

  • vbirdie on 20/06/2016 - 16:10

    awesome, thanks for your help. will look into the site, i had come across it but wasn't sure if it legit-there are so many that look very suspect. i think i should be in a position next year to take on some entry level positions to get me where i want to be.
    i am looking at medical tech writing and have been looking at the jobs advertised so far author-it is the main one but will keep looking.

  • ssx on 21/06/2016 - 14:44

    Tech writing sites do look dodgy lol
    I think they've been made by an older generation. Most tech writing resources were in the forms of bulletin boards and usenet groups :\

    Good luck with it - it is a great job with great pay!

  • vbirdie on 22/06/2016 - 07:20

    thanks for all your help. can i ask which tech writing specialty you are in and is it extremely competitive? Looking at jobs advertised there doesn't seem to be many for junior tech writers, most require 3-5 years experience.

  • ssx on 22/06/2016 - 08:50

    Sure - I'm not in tech writing at the moment, but did a stint in the software side, before I became bored and frustrated. It's difficult to make developers understand that the manual is just as important, since it's one of the first thing the customer picks up - even though it's the last thing created in a project.

    They were also very reluctant to let us touch/test/play with the software in order to create a more accurate manual. The documentation was always the biggest complaint with the customers, but the company couldn't put two and two together :\

  • vbirdie on 22/06/2016 - 10:59

    thanks again for all your feedback. I contacted techwriter.com.au today. Hopefully they will be able to pint me in the right direction.

  • Princesswildcat on 22/07/2016 - 12:46

    I did a course through Abelard Consulting (https://www.abelard.com.au/) last year. Whilst I did this for professional development (got work to pay), I think it might be worthwhile as the Professor who runs it claims his consulting company is one of the 2 specialist recruitment companies for Tech Writers in oz. You get to learn from him, then he invited you to discuss your CV with him and submit it to their company. You get a text book like handbook and he also gave us a book he wrote as well on language. I did the course in Melbourne but he does it in other cities as well.

  • vbirdie on 25/07/2016 - 07:25

    thanks for the information, I'll take a look. is the course aimed at beginners or experienced technical writers?

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