Education · 1 of 5

The path

There is no license and no single degree. What gets you hired is writing samples that prove you can explain something difficult.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 9 to 12

   English and a science or computing subject together. The combination is the whole job in miniature.

2. 2

   A degree

   2 to 4 years

   Technical communication if your school has it. Otherwise English, journalism, engineering or a science. Employers hire from all of these.

3. 3

   Build a portfolio

   While studying

   Write real documentation: a setup guide for an open source project, a manual for something in your house, instructions for a process at your job.

4. 4

   Internship or first junior role

   One summer to a year

   Documentation teams take juniors. A single internship is often enough to be taken seriously afterwards.

5. 5

   Learn the toolchain

   First year on the job

   Structured authoring, a help publishing tool, and version control. This is the part that separates a technical writer from a writer.