I’m a software engineer, but I have a degree in English lit. I find I love technical writing. Maybe it’s because I’m often writing about systems I built, so I u

I’m a software engineer, but I have a degree in English lit. I find I love technical writing. Maybe it’s because I’m often writing about systems I built, so I understand them well and the writing comes fluidly — it might be less fun to write about systems I don’t know as well. Still, I find technical writing one of the parts of my job I most look forward to: presenting to my colleagues a proposed implementation, for example, is both a social aspect of engineering and a way to make sure your design is comprehensible and hence simple (simplicity being a hallmark of good design). I tend not to stress too much over whether I’m writing well: the goal is just to communicate ideas, after all, not to make art.