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Technical Writers

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Select photographs, drawings, sketches, diagrams, and charts to illustrate material.
    • Develop or maintain online help documentation.
    • Review manufacturer's and trade catalogs, drawings and other data relative to operation, maintenance, and service of equipment.
    • Interview production and engineering personnel and read journals and other material to become familiar with product technologies and production methods.
    • Arrange for typing, duplication, and distribution of material.
    • Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
    • 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.
    • Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.
    • Draw sketches to illustrate specified materials or assembly sequence.
    • Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
    • Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
    • Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
    • Confer with customer representatives, vendors, plant executives, or publisher to establish technical specifications and to determine subject material to be developed for publication.
    • Maintain records and files of work and revisions.

    Skills

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    Knowledge

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 62980/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 30.28/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 1,940
    • Yearly Projected Openings 160

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Cooperation
    • Independence
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Digital cameras
    • High capacity removable media drives
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Scanners

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Application server software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer based training software
    • Configuration management software
    • Content workflow software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Data mining software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • File versioning software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Graphical user interface development software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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