Technical Writing – Anatomy of a Technical Communication Job That Pays $82,961 to $107,854 a Year

It’s important from time to time just to remind ourselves the kind of opportunities still exist out there for qualified technical writers and communicators despite the recent economic downturn. Here is one such full-time writing position, offered by a U.S. Federal Agency to U.S. citizen writers.

It pays a salary of $82,961 to $107,854 a year (depending on your qualifications) – the kind of money that 90{40f8b9e939a1f8880e4e068699181ea0c065f7fafc0e6f64c88497a3f07e42aa} of all full-time poets, novelists, and screenwriters will never see.

I’ll highlight some features of this position in order to give a better idea about all these wonderful opportunities that exist in technical writing for all those who are perhaps debating themselves whether to become a technical writer or not.

The person chosen for this position will serve as the Technical Writer and Editor of this Agency.

However, since the Agency is also running a nationwide “Health Campaign” (not its real name), this writer will also end up serving as the Project Officer of the campaign.

The responsibilities of this technical writer will include the following:

1) To develop and disseminate messages on new research findings.

2) To create different information products for health care professionals, researchers, the press, and the public which includes publications, e-newsletters, multimedia training, videos, public service announcements, and exhibits.

3) To write and issue news releases and to hold news teleconferences and media briefings.

4) To develop and execute promotion and dissemination plans.

5) To respond to inquiries from the public, the press, clinicians, and Researchers.

6) To maintain and build relationships with constituent groups and stakeholders and coordinates special events.

7 ) To update and maintain the Agency’s clinical trails database.

8) To update and manage the content of the Agency’s website and develop new web pages as needed.

So, that’s what some technical writers do for $82K to $107K a year.

What do you think?

Do you agree with me that it’s a pretty dynamic position that would require interpersonal and journalistic skills as well as straight forward information design and technical writing experience?

There are many such jobs out there for technical writers since the demand for good information and communication professionals will never disappear, regardless of the economy.

Society for Technical Communication (STC)’s membership web site is an excellent place to hunt for those jobs. I highly recommend it.