Should You Become a Contractor?

Should You Become a Contractor?

By Stephen Gauer At the 10- to 15-year point in their careers, some tech writers decide to make the leap to contract work, where they give up the security of a full-time staff position to work on their own as freelancers. Contract refers to the work arrangement:...
Is it Time For a Career Stretch?

Is it Time For a Career Stretch?

By Stephen Gauer You’ve been a technical writer for five years straight and now you want to stretch yourself — go freelance and offer a wider range of services to clients, or leverage employer-paid training into new responsibilities at your current company. Here are...
Ten Tips for Great Training

Ten Tips for Great Training

By Stephen Gauer You’re written the user guides and online help for the new application and now the client needs someone to train the staff. Why not take the plunge and add training to your skill set? Here are some tips from my 25 years of training: Tip #1: write a...
Becoming a Technical Communicator

Becoming a Technical Communicator

During the past few months in my current position, I have begun to think differently about what it means to be a technical communicator. Initially, I worked solely with development teams and subject matter experts using an Agile methodology, documenting product...
Online Portfolios for Technical Writers

Online Portfolios for Technical Writers

If you’re starting your career as a technical writer, you should have an online portfolio to showcase your work. Your online portfolio should have a URL you can add to your LinkedIn profile, and be included on your resume, or pasted into the appropriate space on...