Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code CAI
Technical Writers
Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.
Also called: Engineering Writer, Grant Writer, Narrative Writer, Requirements Analyst, Com Writer, Global Technical Writer, Medical Writer, Principal Technical Writer.
O*NET 27-3042.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $90,390
- Middle half earn $70,880 to $115,510. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
- 35% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +1% · Slower than average
- 56,400 jobs in 2024, projected 56,900. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Technical writers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Organize material and complete writing assignment according to set standards regarding order, clarity, conciseness, style, and terminology.
- Maintain records and files of work and revisions.
- Edit, standardize, or make changes to material prepared by other writers or establishment personnel.
- Analyze developments in specific field to determine need for revisions in previously published materials and development of new material.
- Study drawings, specifications, mockups, and product samples to integrate and delineate technology, operating procedure, and production sequence and detail.
- Arrange for typing, duplication, and distribution of material.
- Review published materials and recommend revisions or changes in scope, format, content, and methods of reproduction and binding.
- Develop or maintain online help documentation.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Writing4.9 / 5
- Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Speaking3.8 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
- Active Learning3.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.8 / 5
- Computers and Electronics4.3 / 5
- Administrative3.8 / 5
- Communications and Media3.3 / 5
- Administration and Management3.2 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.2 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic30
- Investigative45
- Artistic54
- Social17
- Enterprising16
- Conventional72
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- ICT documentation manager · DE Dokumentationsmanager/Dokumentationsmanagerin · FR responsable de la documentation informatique
- publications coordinator · DE Publikationskoordinator/Publikationskoordinatorin · FR directeur des publications/directrice des publications
- desktop publisher · DE Desktop-Publisher · FR maquettiste
- book editor · DE Buchredakteur/Buchredakteurin · FR directeur de collection/directrice de collection
- writer · DE Schriftsteller/Schriftstellerin · FR écrivain/écrivaine
- speechwriter · DE Redenschreiber/Redenschreiberin · FR rédacteur de discours/rédactrice de discours
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
- Newspaper, periodical and broadcast editors (2491)43,100 employed
- Newspaper and periodical broadcast journalists and reporters (2492)45,100 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.18. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-3042).
Related careers
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