Why technical communication? There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t hear this question. Along with “Isn’t it boring?” or “Why bother? Nobody reads the instructions anyways.” I’m sure most people would find analyzing the steps to accomplishing a task boring, but that’s why it’s not for everyone. It’s for me.
When I first started college, I entered as an Instrumental Music Education major. I’ve always had a passion for music and helping people so it seemed like it would be the best fit. After two semesters, I realized that it was not and thus began the journey of finding what I wanted to do. I still felt a need to help others and was still drawn to education. With these two objectives in mind, I decided to dive into English Education classes. Yeah, it still wasn’t for me.
I realized that I was looking for a career that could offer a healthy work/life balance. As a teacher, that can be hard to find. There is never enough time in the day to help your students, make sure all of your lesson plans are squared away, AND grade all of the assignments sitting on your desk. So that means that work comes home with you (teachers really should be paid more).
While I was still enrolled in my English classes, I kept hearing a few of my peers say their major was Technical Communication. Technical Communication? What’s that? I’d never heard of it. I was intrigued though since there was some overlap in the classes that really interested me. So as any good technical communicator would do, I began to interview the subject matter experts (SMEs). In this case, the SMEs were my classmates. The more I heard them talk about it, the more it sounded like something that was right up my alley.
By doing some research of my own, I learned that technical communication is a way to convey technical information. The medium that you are probably most familiar with is technical writing. Technical writing can include manuals, brochures, procedures, and software installation guides. While technical writing might be the most common medium, it isn’t the only one. Other forms include universal instructions (diagrams), videos, and podcasts.
I’m sure you’re asking yourself why I’d want to have a career in it. You’re probably also thinking of all of the absolutely terrible instructional manuals you’ve encountered in your lifetime. So why choose such a specific niche as a career? Why would I voluntarily sign up for a gig where I’m contributing to a small section of communication that a lot of people hate or don’t even use?
In learning about technical communication and all that it entails, I went through the process of acknowledging all of the terrible examples I’d come across. These bad examples inspired me to think about how to improve them and make them more efficient. I got excited thinking about the possibilities. I wanted to create strong examples of technical communication. This drive to do better showed me that I was on the right path.
Needless to say, I made the switch to Technical Communication and I couldn’t be happier for it. It fills my cup to know that I’ve helped people be less frustrated with a product because of the work that I’ve done. Hearing feedback from users on how my video made the setup of a new feature a breeze is an amazing feeling. I love knowing that I can contribute good to a community that can get a bad rep, and I look forward to contributing more.
I’ll use this blog as a platform to talk about articles in the techcomm community that I find interesting, projects that I’m working on in addition to my full-time work, and who knows, maybe some of my other passions outside of it.
Catch ya next time!
Monica
Monica Dailey 