So many of the technical writers I know never set out to be technical writers when they graduated from college. Some were English majors, intending to write the Great American Novel. Some were scientists taking a break from graduate school. Some were teachers not making enough money. Some were programmers scrambling for a job, any job, in software development. I'd intended to be a creative writing professor and science fiction writer, but somehow, people see "Bachelor of Science in Writing" and "MIT" on my resume, and they assume I studied technical writing, not poetry.
We who have wandered into the profession call it "the Golden Handcuffs." Technical writing pays very well - not as well as software programming or electrical engineering, but certainly better than editing textbooks or teaching in public schools. Fellow writers complain that technical writing saps their creative energy, preventing them from writing their novels, poems, screenplays, memoirs, comic books, etc., that the work is boring and soulless and contributes nothing to society.
Folks, it doesn't have to be that way. Fifteen years after graduating, with ten solid years of technical writing under my belt, I have the best job of my life, I'm loving every minute of it, and I'm writing outside of work as well, even with two small children and an organic vegetable garden occupying vast quantities of my personal time.
How is this possible? Honestly, I ask myself this on a regular basis. And it's tempting to think that this is just another stroke of amazing luck, like finding my husband or being ready to buy a house at the exact moment that our dream house became available. But in actuality, I put a lot of thought and effort into finding the right job. Here's what I did.
1. I sat down and thought about the best jobs I'd ever had in any field and what made them great. Teaching science to fifth graders was fantastic because they're just the right age to ask really good questions. Working at the
Materials Processing Center at MIT was incredible because I got to ask really interesting questions of incredibly brilliant scientists in a wide range of fields. Working at
Akamai was great because of the high caliber of intelligent people working there and because of the challenge of working with emerging, disruptive technologies (both Akamai's and the e-Learning software I was using and administering). Freelancing for
Unmanned Systems magazine was fun because I'm keenly interested in robotics and got to write about several robotics companies around the country.
Several common threads emerge from this. I like learning and teaching others about science and technology even though I don't like working as a scientist. I like working with highly intelligent and creative coworkers. I like writing about innovative, new technologies. Ironically, not one of the jobs I mentioned above was a tech writing job (teaching assistant, science writer, information designer, and freelance science journalist, respectively).
2. I looked at what I hated about past jobs and rapidly concluded the following: I don't ever want to work for a purely software company again. I've often said that the ideal job would primarily involve writing but would also allow me to solder something every once in a while. Furthermore, the subject matter I write about has to be interesting to me, personally. I made up a short list of subjects I'm interested in: environmental science, geology and geophysics, astronomy and astrophysics, robotics, mesh networks, novel materials, gardening and agriculture, children, publishing. Finally, I'm no good at freelance. I'm very deadline-driven, but if I'm the only one who cares about the deadline, it never gets done. I like working for other people who can challenge me and help me set goals.
3. From this, I developed a profile for the ideal employer:
- Primary business is in science or technology, particularly one that interests me
- Produces more than just software
- Employs highly intelligent, competent, creative individuals
- Is in the Boston area (preferably accessible by public transportation)
Having drawn up this list, I began hunting for companies that fit my profile and contacting them. Some of the companies I contacted include
A123 Systems, whose novel energy storage technology I had covered while working at the Materials Processing Center,
E Ink, producer of electronic paper product such as the Kindle, and
iRobot, who I'd written about for
Unmanned Systems magazine and where several of my friends worked.
Then I started angling my way into jobs that more-or-less fit. Around this time, I started having children, so I did a lot of contracting work at a lot of different places. I looked for interesting work that would teach me new things and help me attain my goal of finding the perfect job. At
Basis Technology, I wrote about unique language processing software, which required documentation with snippets of thirteen different languages including Russian, Greek, Japanese, and Arabic, so I originally wrote it in
LaTeX, then ported it to
DocBook. At
EditShare, I got to document a hardware product for the first time.
Just a couple of weeks before I had my second child, I landed a contract writing grant proposals for iRobot. This was an amazingly fun job essentially writing science fiction that I literally did with a laptop on my protruding belly, never setting foot in iRobot. After my daughter was born, a job opportunity in their grant writing department opened up, but I held firm to my principle that I shouldn't work for at least the first year of my children's lives, and not full time until they're in school.
So, a year later, when I got a call from a small robotics firm in Woburn, MA, I blew them off. I had just started consulting again and was easing into working away from home. The position was full time, and I was unwilling to work more than 2 days/week. A couple of months later, I got another call from them, asking if I would reconsider. And I did. The contract job was not working out so well, and my husband had an idea for starting a business that meant I'd need to step up and provide more of the family income. So I agreed to meet with someone at the company to explore my options.
The company is
Kiva Systems, a small robotics company started by a fellow MIT alumnus. Here's the official Kiva blurb:
Kiva Systems provides automated order fulfillment and material handling systems for distribution centers that enable companies to simplify operations and reduce costs, while increasing strategic flexibility. Using autonomous mobile robots, movable shelving and sophisticated control software, the Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System enables extremely fast cycle times with reduced labor requirements. From receiving to picking to shipping—Kiva automates fulfillment without unwieldy conveyor delivering best-in-class order accuracy and improved safety. The result is warehouse automation that is quick to set up, inexpensive to operate and easy to change. World-class companies including Staples, Walgreens, Gap, Zappos.com, Diapers.com, Quiet Logistics and DJO medical devices use Kiva automated storage and retrieval systems to fulfill direct-to-consumer, retail re-stocking and business-to-business orders.
I was immediately impressed by Kiva. The robotic solution to the warehousing problem is brilliant, complex, constantly changing. The robots are really fun to watch - go to
YouTube and search for "Kiva robots" to view some fun videos of the bots in action. The person who met with me, Mitch Rosenberg, VP of Marketing, was bright, articulate, and engaging. The subsequent formal interview confirmed my first impressions: everyone who interviewed me was intelligent and asked excellent questions.
This was what I'd been looking for. With a single exception - I'd have to drive to work - this was the perfect job. I stuck to my guns and agreed to work three days/week until my daughter was two years old, and in fact this worked out so well that I was soon able to move up to four days/week, qualifying me for benefits. Mitch is my boss now, I've been here over a year, and I still love coming in to work every day.
And I'm writing outside of work again, a steady stream of blog entries, an unsteady stream of poetry, and occasional work on a young adult novel. The work I do actually supports my creative mindset - for every software release, I write up a summary of each feature with an accompanying limerick. It's fun, challenging, and constantly changing.
How did Kiva find me? Simple: they Googled for "technical writer", "robot", and "Boston". Try it. I come up as number ten. Add "resume" to filter out the job postings, and I come up number two. Location, location, location.
So now that I've reconciled myself with the Golden Handcuffs, I've developed a new interest in the techniques and trade of technical writing. In this blog, I'll discuss writing methods, tools, professional societies, online forums and blogs, and general job advice.
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