Aaron K. Redshaw's Blog
August 21, 2022
Would I like technical writing?
Before you invest time, and possibly money, into getting into a technical writing career, you should first decide if it’s the kind of job you would like. Keep in mind you probably won’t identify with everything in these lists, but if technical writing is a job you’d like, you may see some familiar patterns here. […]
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August 13, 2022
What should I study first?
If you want to get a job as a technical writer, you will have to get technical. Since I’m often asked what to study first, I’ve put together some guiding principles so you can figure out where to spend your time learning the technical subjects. I won’t tell you what to study first, but I’ll […]
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July 30, 2022
What are APIs anyway?
Introduction to APIs When people use the term APIs, they are not all talking about the same thing. This used to confuse me early on, so I’m going to give you a very quick tour of APIs. If you want more in-depth knowledge, there is a ton of information online. To start, API stands for […]
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July 7, 2022
Getting experience – Part 3
Get experience with an open source project GitHub | Linux | GNU | Sourceforge Common advice The idea that you can get a job in technical writing by volunteering to write documentation for an open source project has been around awhile. This advice often appears in blog posts, tech writing forums, and advice columns. The […]
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April 16, 2022
Getting experience – Part 2
Get any job in an IT industry, and try to work your way into a tech writing position If you’ve been applying for technical writing jobs, you may have discovered that no one will hire you without experience. In that case, you may try getting a job in a technical company, and see if you […]
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March 2, 2022
Getting experience – Part 1
How can I get experience in technical writing when all the entry-level jobs require experience? This is perhaps the most difficult issue to overcome when trying to get into technical writing. Just today I looked up entry level positions for technical writing on Indeed. I saw only one, and here’s what it said: 3-6 years? […]
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February 12, 2022
The importance of humility
When trying to get a job in technical writing, or even once you have one, humility can serve you well. Sometimes humility is learned the hard way, by running into a wall, or being turned down a few dozen times. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for that to happen to learn humility. Here are […]
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January 26, 2022
The technical writing interview – Part 2
In this second post on the technical writing interview, I’ll focus on the technical section of the interview itself. For behavioral interview advice, as well as how to prepare for other general interview questions, see The technical writing interview – Part 1. This post will be based on the kind of technical writing I do. […]
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January 15, 2022
The technical writing interview – Part 1
Congratulations, you got the interview! So, how do you prepare for it? You are going to prepare for it, right? Preparation matters One of two fates will befall you if you don’t prepare for your interview. When a question is asked, especially something open ended… You have nothing to say and meander around searching for […]
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January 1, 2022
What kind of technical writing job should I get into?
If you’re looking for a technical writing job, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the possible job requirements. The truth is there are many types of technical writing jobs, and each has its own requirements. For that reason, there is no need to study all the requirements for every category of technical writing job. […]
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