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Have you considered technical writing? I've talked to a number of folks who are in a similar position, and writing (as opposed to generalist development) has a

by jmduke 4y ago

Have you considered technical writing? I've talked to a number of folks who are in a similar position, and writing (as opposed to generalist development) has a number of advantages: - It rewards experience though, except for niche-specific writing, does not require understanding of specific frameworks or programming languages - It is often 'important-but-not-urgent' work, so intermittent availability is less of a deal-breaker - Clear writing is very much an orthogonal skill from programming aptitude writ large, and you don't need to compete with new grads

snide 4y ago
This is solid advice. In large, technical companies you'd be surprised at the number of technical writers that aren't actually technical. Having someone that acts as a source writer, rather than as an editor for developers that are quickly rushing past the documentation requirements is a game-changer. The best technical writers I've worked with were always folks who understood programming and could write the docs from experience. I also find most technical documentation teams to be a lot more chill and flexible. Most of them have excellent team-minded work styles. How to get started in this field? You can't throw a stone without hitting an OSS project that wouldn't want help with its docs. It's a great way to build up a network and some Github activity.
- noduerme 4y ago
  Third this. One of the companies I develop for hired a technical writer to translate large pieces of our code into user-friendly manuals. She isn't a coder but she's a good writer and has a knack for finding problems and asking questions from the user's perspective. Most importantly, she's intellectually curious. She sort of fell into the position by being a regular employee who raised a lot of good questions about the old software as it existed. She's paid well by the client, picks her own hours and problems, has a hand in suggesting new features, sends me lists of questions and I answer as I do... in extreme detail and with tons of edge cases. She then just keeps testing things out and distills my technical babble down to the manuals that are used to train the managers.
pabs3 4y ago
On that note, LWN are always looking for article authors: https://lwn.net/op/AuthorGuide.lwn https://lwn.net/op/AuthorGuide.lwn
jonnycomputer 4y ago
Interesting. Do you have a feel for the market for this as a contract-job or side-gig?
- langitbiru 4y ago
  There are contract jobs: https://whopaystechnicalwriters.com https://whopaystechnicalwriters.com But there are also permanent type jobs. Some companies are looking for technical writers. Find them at "Who is Hiring" threads.

by jmduke 4y ago

snide 4y ago

This is solid advice. In large, technical companies you'd be surprised at the number of technical writers that aren't actually technical. Having someone that acts as a source writer, rather than as an editor for developers that are quickly rushing past the documentation requirements is a game-changer. The best technical writers I've worked with were always folks who understood programming and could write the docs from experience. I also find most technical documentation teams to be a lot more chill and flexible. Most of them have excellent team-minded work styles. How to get started in this field? You can't throw a stone without hitting an OSS project that wouldn't want help with its docs. It's a great way to build up a network and some Github activity.

noduerme 4y ago
Third this. One of the companies I develop for hired a technical writer to translate large pieces of our code into user-friendly manuals. She isn't a coder but she's a good writer and has a knack for finding problems and asking questions from the user's perspective. Most importantly, she's intellectually curious. She sort of fell into the position by being a regular employee who raised a lot of good questions about the old software as it existed. She's paid well by the client, picks her own hours and problems, has a hand in suggesting new features, sends me lists of questions and I answer as I do... in extreme detail and with tons of edge cases. She then just keeps testing things out and distills my technical babble down to the manuals that are used to train the managers.

pabs3 4y ago

On that note, LWN are always looking for article authors: https://lwn.net/op/AuthorGuide.lwn https://lwn.net/op/AuthorGuide.lwn

jonnycomputer 4y ago

Interesting. Do you have a feel for the market for this as a contract-job or side-gig?

langitbiru 4y ago
There are contract jobs: https://whopaystechnicalwriters.com https://whopaystechnicalwriters.com But there are also permanent type jobs. Some companies are looking for technical writers. Find them at "Who is Hiring" threads.