most important information to impress upon the NASA people that
your company is well qualified to handle the job.
But this isn’t the end of your assignment. You will have to attend
meetings of the sales force so they can help you put your proposal
across, giving it sales appeal. Then somewhere in the process, prob-
ably after you have written the first draft, you will have to meet
with your company’s top administrators, who will want to scruti-
nize your proposal backward and forward, inside and out. They
must pass final judgment on what you have written, for the repu-
tation and strength of the company depend on your effort, at least
in the eyes of NASA.
Or, suppose that you have been assigned to write a manual. This
can be a big job, requiring four or five people—a technical writer,
an engineer, a designer, and an illustrator. Writing a manual is usu-
ally a long-term project. Although the material will originate with
the engineers who worked on the equipment the manual describes,
the technical writer must consult many other people as well.
You may be the person in the publications department who is
responsible for the production of articles and papers. The basic
material will come from the engineers and research people, but you
will work closely with the public relations staff in trying to place
the articles in national magazines. To get a single article in shape,
you may meet with a veritable barrage of management executives,
patent lawyers, and supervisors of one kind or another.
You can see, then, that the technical writer is not isolated in a
tiny cubicle, working alone. Many hours must be spent on prepar-
ing and writing, and the writer will become adept at interviewing
and attending meetings and become thoroughly familiar with the
divisions of the company.
Duties of the Technical Writer 91
Final Words

project, from the researchers to the graphic artists to the printers.
If the schedule has been planned to allow enough time, there will
be less chance of a bottleneck in distributing the final report. The
pressure of deadlines can be formidable at times, and the ability to
function well under such pressure is a prime requirement for tech-
nical writers and editors. When the proposal or report you are
preparing could mean many thousands of dollars in business to
your employer, you can be sure the deadline won’t be taken lightly
by management.
Duties of the Technical Writer 93
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5
Employers of
Technical Writers
In the previous chapter, we discussed the different types of duties
technical writers might perform. Now let’s look at some specific
employers and their technical writing staffs.
A survey conducted by the Society for Technical Communica-
tion asked publications managers about the depth and breadth of
technical publications in the United States. These are just a few of
the conclusions.
• Most technical publication work is done in industrial multi-
division corporations.
• Most publication work comes from organizations with more
than two thousand employees, and the publications departments
report primarily to engineering, administration, and marketing.
• The most common job titles are technical writer, technical edi-
tor, and technical illustrator.
95
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the company introduces new products and to propose new ways of
handling great masses of technical information.
IBM has offered many opportunities for success in the field of
technical communications. For example, one young man who com-
pleted a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in Europe started and
organized the publications department at IBM’s Stockholm facil-
ity. With his fluency in several languages, he became a manager in
the Far East Corporation of IBM.
Not surprisingly, the electronics industry employs many techni-
cal writers. An example is the Northrop Corporation, which needs
technical communicators in many areas. One department that
needs technical writers is avionics, which deals with the parts of an
aircraft concerned with how the plane gets from one place to
another, how the flight crew can communicate with various planes,
and how the plane is controlled while it is in flight. Because it is so
technologically complex, a great mass of reports and papers is gen-
erated by technical writers in this branch of electronics.
IBM and Northrop are only two of the many industrial compa-
nies throughout North America that employ large numbers of tech-
nical writers. One of the primary areas in which these companies
use technical writers is internal communication. In such large com-
panies, it is essential that employees on all levels and at all locations
be kept informed about company news. This information is circu-
lated by a variety of communication techniques such as in-house
newsletters, faxed memoranda, e-mail reports, and internal group
meetings.
As one of the largest single sources of technical papers for engi-
neering and scientific journals, General Electric Company provides
its scientists and engineers with a wide range of supporting services.
Employers of Technical Writers 97

employ technical writers. With the increase of small companies as
subcontractors, their volume of paperwork has increased greatly.
Small companies are not necessarily selling their products to tech-
nical companies; many sell directly to the public. Because consumer
products are increasingly complicated to operate, even smaller com-
panies are compelled to furnish well-written instructions. It is a
good idea to consider a variety of companies of all sizes when you
are looking for a job. Remember, the directions for do-it-yourself
kits for household equipment had to be written by someone.
At the same time you are thinking in terms of smaller compa-
nies, consider other places for employment. Some technical writers
prefer to work for agencies producing services rather than goods.
Technical writers have worked for such agencies as the Travelers
Insurance Company in the capacity of senior technical writer in the
engineering division. Another agency known to hire technical writ-
ers is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Research Groups
Research organizations are another excellent source of employment
opportunities for technical writing positions. Some are part of the
companies themselves, some are supported by universities, and oth-
ers are privately endowed.
Regardless of their management, all research groups have one
thing in common—they work to find new ways of doing things,
whether that means developing new products, designing new com-
munication systems, or treating diseases. Frequently their efforts
do not show results for many years, but they generate an incredi-
Employers of Technical Writers 99
ble flow of reports, science and engineering papers, and presenta-
tions before technical audiences.
Consider the ongoing research conducted by pharmaceutical