Technical Writers
Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.
Most important skills
- Writing
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Administrative
- Communications and Media
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
- Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
- Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
- Confer with customer representatives, vendors, plant executives, or publisher to establish technical specifications and to determine subject material to be developed for publication.
- Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.
- Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
- Assist in laying out material for publication.
- Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Artistic, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (35.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (38.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (42.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Technical Writers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 68% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 59% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 78% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 73% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 77% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 56% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 85% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 78% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.33%
- Contact with others about half the time: 30%
- Contact with others most of the time: 20.4%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 38.38%
- Fairly important: 1.82%
- Important: 7.16%
- Very important: 8.04%
- Extremely important: 44.59%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0.46%
- Important: 17.13%
- Very important: 6.04%
- Extremely important: 76.38%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 3.08%
- Limited freedom: 18.83%
- Some freedom: 13.4%
- A lot of freedom: 64.69%
n = 26, Incumbent 07/2012
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.3%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.3%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 30.53%
- Every day: 47.87%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.83%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.56%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.72%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 1.3%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 28.59%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 25.36%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 44.75%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 1.3%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2012
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 11.57%
- Fairly serious: 48.8%
- Serious: 30.39%
- Very serious: 9.25%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 26, Incumbent 07/2012
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O*NET-SOC 27-3042.00 · SOC 27-3042 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8