Technical Writing in India: Miles to go...

"a substantial number got into the field without having a clear picture about the job they were supposed to do," said a survery conducted several years back.

I liked this particular observation because nothing much has changed for the better. Most of the product-based Indian companies do not have a proper technical documentation team. They are also unaware of the importance of technical documentation in marketing their products. Companies do not have guidelines or styles developed to suit their needs.

In the absence of credible data on how many Indian technical writers are writing technical documents from scratch and by testing software, it cannot be said that technical writing has arrived in India. Except for a few private training institutes, who make money in the name of training wannabe technical writers, techncial writing is not yet a lucrative profession in India.

When compared to the youngsters joining the media, the standard of English demonstrated by young technical writers in software companies is pathetic. Most of them have good oral communication skills, but when it comes to writing, they don't match high school students of English medium public schools in India. For many, technical writing is a shortcut to bigger things in the software industry.

A few technical writers can term themselves lucky, if their creativity and efforts are appreciated by both Indian and foreign clients. The remaining are still in the wasteland, with no original writing to their credit and for want of training in technical writing tools.

Those who want to make it big in technical writing should have interest in technology, software, programming languages, besides excellent skills in writing and editing. Otherwise, people are going to give a hell lot of trouble to others.