What you already know
Technical writers are translators too⎹ Linguistic competence⎹ Ready to investigate⎹ Tools to tick off
Technical writers are translators too
In essence, technical writers are already translators – and vice versa. When you write user manuals for complex software or intricate machines, you convey technical concepts into text that is friendly for non-technical readers. You change difficult jargon to simple terms. You account for different target audiences. All of this is much like translating texts from one natural language to another.
Conversely, translators are, in a way, already technical writers (even more so if they translate manuals!); they too write, handle documents, convey concepts, adapt content to new audiences, adjust the register, observe grammar rules and style guides, use specialized software… the list goes on!
In short, your retraining should feel like a natural transition. You can basically tick off the “writer” part in “technical writer”, just like an engineer would do with the “technical”. For a head start, it doesn’t get much better: if you can tick off both, it means you’re already there!
Linguistic competence
Linguistic competence is perhaps your most valuable asset. Remember that it’s not only about foreign languages. As a translator, you are great at processing texts. You quickly spot ambiguity and redundancy. You feel subtleties in the language. You understand how the choice of words impacts the overall tone.
In your writing, you can be impersonal, brief, and to the point, or inject some creativity if needed. You have an eye for typos and grammatical mistakes, and you don’t need Grammarly to always have your back.
Ready to investigate
In your career, you have translated some specialized documents. Whether they were of medical, legal, or technical sort, you realize how much field-specific expertise you need to translate such texts well and in a reasonable timespan. To adapt, you have developed readiness to:
- keep learning and investigating new topics to update your knowledge
- reach out to experts when you’re out of your depth
To a technical writer, much of this will sound familiar!
Tools to tick off
You’re a skilled web user and researcher. You trust that your detective skills will save you even when ProZ fails. Digging for information and fact-checking is your daily bread. You filter search results and have a nose for reliable sources.
In software, you make a good use of keyboard shortcuts. When you write, your WPM is high enough not to stall you before you think up another sentence.
You probably know at least one word processor – most likely Microsoft Word or some alternative. If not, don’t worry. You’ll learn it in a flash. After all, you process words for a living. Speaking of Microsoft, you have probably used other programs in their suite. PowerPoint and Excel might come in handy, and often for not-so-obvious reasons (screen capturing!)!
Finally, the CAT software. If you translate literature, you might not use it much, but you likely tried it at some point, at least. Whether it was Trados or MemoQ, you can deal with CAT tools if necessary. You have also worked with various file formats. You probably know what markup tags look like and how some programs target them to separate text from layout (e.g., formatting tags in MemoQ). Maybe you have translated web content or localized software? Your mileage may vary, but the bottom line is: you might be more technical than you think!
Next topic: What you need to learn