If you’re an aspiring or new technical writer, understanding the options available to you as you contemplate your future career is helpful. Like many other professions, technical writing offers several specializations, some of which might be more suited to your skills, experience, and personal preferences than others—and some of which you might not have known existed. This section will help you understand the different specializations and give you a taste of what you can expect in each. We’ll take a deep dive into each specialization, exploring the type of documents they create and who their main audience is.

Whether you’re crafting user-friendly manuals for hardware, getting to grips with a new software product, or interviewing a subject matter expert to create accurate process and procedure documentation, the role of a technical writer is as varied as it is essential. Technical writers are a critical bridge between technology and the end-user, helping to demystify complex concepts into usable prose.

Finally, this section will explore the horizon beyond traditional roles, examining the evolving scope for employment in the field and related professional writing opportunities. As the landscape of technical communication continues to shift and expand, so too do the opportunities for those skilled in the art of conveying complex information with clarity.

In this section:

• Types of Technical Writers
• Technical Writers: The Docs They Write
• A Day in the Life of a Technical Writer
• Technical Writer Role Names
• Other Professional Writing Roles