: Re: Does a technical writer need a technical background? Does a technical writer need a technical background?
Yes! But that doesn't mean an engineering degree, and the level of technical knowledge depends on the type of documentation. You need more engineering and science background to work for an engineering or science firm. You might need more statistics and financial background to work for a bank or write grant proposals.
Here are some of the technical areas that most documentation and proposal writers will need to use:
Math: Percentages, fractions, measurements, time, unit conversions.
Science: Physics (basics like acceleration, force).
Engineering: ISO standards, scientific notation, engineering drawings and symbols.
Software: Code repositories, operating systems, databases, web technologies, publishing software and methods.
Personally, I have English and Journalism degrees, but I would be pretty lost if I hadn't taken physics, trig, microbiology, chemistry, astronomy, and other science and engineering-related classes in high school and college. I especially needed that foundation for engineering writing (my current job), but the technical background was also important in journalism jobs when I wrote about environmental issues, government budgets and taxes, weather stories, and many other areas.
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