All Paths Lead to Rome and If You Are Lucky Your Path Will Guide You to the Field of Technical Communication

At the beginning
I have always been keen on literature — not only reading books, but also analyzing the plot, characters and what influenced their decisions and motivation. It was like a game, and it was fun. As a child, I thought that when I grow up, I will become a journalist because of my passion for reading, writing, and communicating — until the day I accidentally had to go to a technical school for electronics. And so, the wheel of fortune turned my life path in another direction — full of signals and made up of many tiny electronic particles that we assembled on the electronic boards. And this cruel fate did not want to stop here — it then led me to the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, revealing a completely different world — the world of digits, primaries, lines, curves, equations, zeroes and ones, deeply hidden in the computers.

Was it boring? Well, it was difficult, and for me if something is difficult, it can never get boring — I view it as interesting and thrilling instead!

During my last year at university, I was hired by a software company to translate some technical documentation from German to Bulgarian and when the project was over, they asked me to continue supporting them in various fields — maintaining the website, making functional QA testing, and technical writing. This was my first interaction with the role of a technical communicator, and it was a great experience, because I knew the product and it was easy for me to write and explain all its complex features in a simple and easy to understand way.

At that time, back in 2002, I was looking beyond the surface of constantly developing technology and I was particularly interested in web development. Over the next 14 years I developed and maintained hundreds of websites and web applications. Until one day when I woke up and suddenly I realized I did not want to do this anymore.

And now what?
The passion to create another web thing, very similar to the one I had made countless times before, was gone and, maybe even worse — it felt so dreadfully boring. I was faced with the emptiness of an unfulfilling venture, and it was a clean sign that something must be changed.

Moving forward while looking back
The turning point was an interview with a brilliant HR specialist for a position as a technical writer. In a stroke of luck, or perhaps of providence, here was something from my past, something that I was passionate about — a profession that I could contribute to with all my knowledge and technical background, but also with my strong communication skills, developed through the years.

The field of technical communication is broad, and it provides one with many opportunities — to work with a lot of experts, to read constantly, to learn new technologies and new tools, to master new skills and to create assets that are useful for others. It never gets boring. But perhaps this is the part where you would like to ask me something important?

What if I do not have a technical background?
If you believe that you can write something meaningful in a simple and easy to understand way, while you are dancing rock n’ roll and interviewing your subject matter experts at the same time, without a Babel fish in your ear in a chaotic virtual reality, where software code blocks are floating around you and someone from the rock band is trying to make your head explode with a trumpet, and all that after a shot of Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, and if you have not killed yourself reading this by now, then this job is JUST for YOU!

Technical writing is not limited to the technical domains, such as engineering, financial services, manufacturing, the medical industry, etc. Technical writers work in software, transportation, energy, telecommunications, publishing, consulting, health, security — the list is almost endless.

This profession does not require strong technical skills. They can be handy, but if you are inquisitive you can catch up and learn everything you would like to learn. What is more important in the long run is actually the combination of hard work and your natural talent.

The correct formula for success in the field of technical communication requires you to have:

• High Level of Curiosity
• Strong Communication Skills
• High Degree of Empathy
• A Pinch of Writing Talent
• Social, Soft, or What-ever-else-you-want Skill

It also requires you to be a:

• Knowledge Lover
• Challenge Taker
• Hardworker
• Lifelong Learner

It is so simple, isn’t it? There are only a few traits that you should “bring”: talent, curiosity, a set of skills, love, and diligence.

This is the way you can make others’ life much easier and more productive, because the technical communicator serves a greater good.

And you know what? In the end it turned out to be the perfect cross-point between my childhood dreams and my fortune’s plans. :)