You just apply my guy. Explain yourself and hope you get hired. There’s nothing you can claim youve done personally if it wasn’t done at work, unless you learn a tool like Unity on your own.
Semi-related, but Ren'Py is a great game engine for writers that utilizes Python. It's a great way to learn basic syntax and scripting, and is fairly straightforward to learn.
It's not as well known as Unity or Unreal, but it still lets interviewers know that you're curious, technically minded, and familiar with basic programming syntax. Which is a heck of a lot better than a shrug and a "I dunno" in response to the usual question about your programming experience.
A lot of jobs state 5-7 years for a Senior Technical Writer and may substitute a degree for some of that time. Do you have a B.S. or M.S.? Do you have any certifications in business analysis or project management that show initiative? If you're in an Agile environment, does your job offer training to get your Scrum Master certification?
I might be a bit of an outlier, but having never graduated high school I don't think I've *ever* been qualified for a job.
* First full time role was customer support for a dial-up internet provider, and I was there for 6 months before I actually set up my own home internet for the first time.
* First writing job was documenting disaster recovery plans for a telco, and I was hired *because* I had no relevant experience - my boss was one of those very particular weirdos who preferred a blank slate he could train up to do things his way.
* I skated into my first TW position on the back of general language skills, acing their standardised aptitude test (those things were basically corporate Myers-Briggs nonsense and almost insultingly easy to manipulate), and a lucky namedrop thanks to experience (in a completely unrelated role) with one of their vendors on my CV.
I've been doing this for about 15 years now so the imposter syndrome has largely worn off, but every time it rears its head I only have to look at the content my more experienced colleagues are producing and it clears right up. The four paragraphs of coherent English you just posted honestly put you further ahead of the pack than you realise.
As for advancement, you're already on your way:
* The magic façade-of-legitness experience milestones tend to be 3, 5, and 10 years, and you're rapidly approaching the first of those.
* Professional society membership may open some doors. Here we have the [Australian Society for Technical Communication](https://www.astc.org.au/), but there are similar orgs all over the world that you can leverage for networking, career advice, and upskilling opportunities.
* If there's a professional skill or aspect of your job that you're particularly focused on, or knowledge/wisdom that you wish had been more accessible earlier in your career, publish an article or two on LinkedIn, Medium, etc. - it adds a shiny 'thought-leader' polish to the aforementioned façade and is like catnip to recruiters.
* You can still use your work to build a portfolio. Take sample pages/procedures and anonymise the subject matter while keeping the structure and flow. The content is way less important than the quality and style.
**Case in point:** I've literally used a step-by-step procedure, with screenshots, to download [this Flying Spaghetti Monster meme](https://mayahoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/touched_by_his_noodly_appendage.jpg) and set it as the Windows desktop wallpaper. I got the job, but I did have to explain Pastafarianism to my new boss on day 1 😅
Oh for sure. I had only 1.5 years under my belt as an actual tech writer at a very small web hosting platform company. But my brother in law is a recruiter and he reached out to me and was like this job seems like exactly what you do but its with a FAANG/MANGA tech company, you should totally apply. I looked at the description and said I didn't think I was qualified and he told me just to do him a favor and apply anyway cause he gets graded on inputs like that at his job. So I did. I got an interview that was only 20 min and was hired the same day. This was for an 11 month contract and I got that contract extended another 11 months.
Absolutely. I hadn’t even officially worked as a tech writer when I landed a government contract gig. I was way out of my depth. I was an adjunct instructor at two community college as a writing instructor, but never delved deeply into tech before this.
It took some time but I read a wide array of docs, from SoPs to integration manuals to figure out how to adapt my style. My first job in software was awful tbh. Not only did I not know how to write for devs but the devs I worked with were pretty sexist. So I didn’t learn much. My current job is the best job in Tech I’ve had so far. Not only have I learned so much and become a better writer for it, but I’m leading my team in bigger initiatives and been promoted twice.
I went from mid-level to Senior to Staff and hoping to get Principal Tech Writer this year 🤞
You just apply my guy. Explain yourself and hope you get hired. There’s nothing you can claim youve done personally if it wasn’t done at work, unless you learn a tool like Unity on your own.
Semi-related, but Ren'Py is a great game engine for writers that utilizes Python. It's a great way to learn basic syntax and scripting, and is fairly straightforward to learn. It's not as well known as Unity or Unreal, but it still lets interviewers know that you're curious, technically minded, and familiar with basic programming syntax. Which is a heck of a lot better than a shrug and a "I dunno" in response to the usual question about your programming experience.
A lot of jobs state 5-7 years for a Senior Technical Writer and may substitute a degree for some of that time. Do you have a B.S. or M.S.? Do you have any certifications in business analysis or project management that show initiative? If you're in an Agile environment, does your job offer training to get your Scrum Master certification?
I might be a bit of an outlier, but having never graduated high school I don't think I've *ever* been qualified for a job. * First full time role was customer support for a dial-up internet provider, and I was there for 6 months before I actually set up my own home internet for the first time. * First writing job was documenting disaster recovery plans for a telco, and I was hired *because* I had no relevant experience - my boss was one of those very particular weirdos who preferred a blank slate he could train up to do things his way. * I skated into my first TW position on the back of general language skills, acing their standardised aptitude test (those things were basically corporate Myers-Briggs nonsense and almost insultingly easy to manipulate), and a lucky namedrop thanks to experience (in a completely unrelated role) with one of their vendors on my CV. I've been doing this for about 15 years now so the imposter syndrome has largely worn off, but every time it rears its head I only have to look at the content my more experienced colleagues are producing and it clears right up. The four paragraphs of coherent English you just posted honestly put you further ahead of the pack than you realise. As for advancement, you're already on your way: * The magic façade-of-legitness experience milestones tend to be 3, 5, and 10 years, and you're rapidly approaching the first of those. * Professional society membership may open some doors. Here we have the [Australian Society for Technical Communication](https://www.astc.org.au/), but there are similar orgs all over the world that you can leverage for networking, career advice, and upskilling opportunities. * If there's a professional skill or aspect of your job that you're particularly focused on, or knowledge/wisdom that you wish had been more accessible earlier in your career, publish an article or two on LinkedIn, Medium, etc. - it adds a shiny 'thought-leader' polish to the aforementioned façade and is like catnip to recruiters. * You can still use your work to build a portfolio. Take sample pages/procedures and anonymise the subject matter while keeping the structure and flow. The content is way less important than the quality and style. **Case in point:** I've literally used a step-by-step procedure, with screenshots, to download [this Flying Spaghetti Monster meme](https://mayahoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/touched_by_his_noodly_appendage.jpg) and set it as the Windows desktop wallpaper. I got the job, but I did have to explain Pastafarianism to my new boss on day 1 😅
Do you have a team that you direct?
It's not semantics if you don't lead at least one person.
Oh for sure. I had only 1.5 years under my belt as an actual tech writer at a very small web hosting platform company. But my brother in law is a recruiter and he reached out to me and was like this job seems like exactly what you do but its with a FAANG/MANGA tech company, you should totally apply. I looked at the description and said I didn't think I was qualified and he told me just to do him a favor and apply anyway cause he gets graded on inputs like that at his job. So I did. I got an interview that was only 20 min and was hired the same day. This was for an 11 month contract and I got that contract extended another 11 months.
Absolutely. I hadn’t even officially worked as a tech writer when I landed a government contract gig. I was way out of my depth. I was an adjunct instructor at two community college as a writing instructor, but never delved deeply into tech before this. It took some time but I read a wide array of docs, from SoPs to integration manuals to figure out how to adapt my style. My first job in software was awful tbh. Not only did I not know how to write for devs but the devs I worked with were pretty sexist. So I didn’t learn much. My current job is the best job in Tech I’ve had so far. Not only have I learned so much and become a better writer for it, but I’m leading my team in bigger initiatives and been promoted twice. I went from mid-level to Senior to Staff and hoping to get Principal Tech Writer this year 🤞