Technical communication, with a lucrative pay cheque, is emerging as the new in-demand vocation

BENGALURU: The ubiquitous instruction manual, which often gets ‘filed’ to never be found again, is the face of a vocation that is much in demand.

Technical communication, once considered an informal, niche sector, is gaining prominence on the back of the ever-growing IT sector, not to mention lucrative pay cheques. And, Bengaluru leads the pack in the number of technical writers employed, accounting for about 35% of the total jobs in the country.

“There is almost a 20% year-on-year growth. IT companies and startups are recruiting more people to strengthen documentation of their software products,” said Nidhi Luharuwalla, head of the Bengaluru chapter of The Society for Technical Communication (STC), a USheadquartered non-profit organisation working to create better opportunities for technical writing. Bengaluru, Luharuwalla said, employs about 5,000 technical communicators.


Top recruiters in Bengaluru include SAP, Oracle, Intel, L&T, Cisco and Nokia, according to industry experts. “Technical writing is the only field where you do not need an engineering degree to get into an IT company and earn a similar annual salary, approximately ?6 lakh for a fresher,” said Sandhya Ranganathan, section manager at Hewlett-Packard (HP) Enterprise.

She also pointed out that unlike the rest of the IT industry, which has an abysmal representation of women in leadership or top management roles, 50% to 80% of roles in technical communications are occupied by women.

Nibu Thomas, associate information architect with GT Nexus, said technical writing is no longer a career that people stumble upon. “Many students are opting for technical writing as their first career choice. Apart from that, we also get applications from teachers, writers or engineers looking for a career switch.” The average age of applicants is mid-20s to mid-30s.

Technical communicators need to have a flair for writing and a technological bent of mind, said recruiters. The job has evolved according to how consumers access information online.

Apart from text documentation, technical writers are expected to work with audio and video. Digital tools are used to break down and provide topic-based information so that users can access only relevant information during online searches.

Teaching in this field is offered only by private institutes. Organisations like STC also organise periodic conferences to encourage writers and offer a networking platform. STC is organising its regional conference on Saturday and has already received 120 registrations, Luharuwalla said.

Roopa Ravikumar, knowledge manager, SAP, said chatbots, voice interactions and podcasts are emerging as major themes in the industry. “Going forward, technical writers will play a more cross-functional, interdisciplinary role to further establish their value as specialists.”