Tech Careers for Writers

If writing is your top skill, then, finding a career (not just a job) may seem like a choice between doing something you like and doing something that pays well. What you may not know, what I didn’t know, is that there are great tech careers for writers. Careers that can potentially meet both needs.

3 Careers in Tech That Writers Might Like

There are lots of career options in tech fields (far more than I could cover in this article or that I’ve even heard of, I’m sure). The 3 I’m going to cover are those I’m most familiar with because, thanks to my eclectic skillset, I’ve ended up working in each of them over time.

1. Programmer / Dev

Let’s start with the most obvious – the programmer or developer. Essentially, someone who writes the code to create software, websites, etc.

A lot of people have the impression that writing code is something for mechanically-minded brains. People into math and engineering or building their own computers. While some devs fit that description, there are plenty who don’t like those things at all and don’t think of coding in the same way.

Personally, I find the process for writing code to be really similar to writing a novel. You…

1. identify actions that need to occur,
2. plan for how they’ll work together,
3. write as much as you can,
4. test for problems as you go,
5. find out you were wrong about part of your plan, and
6. go back and fix it. Repeatedly.

Yes, that’s a generalization, but there is really a lot of similarity between writing English and writing code. I mean, there’s a reason they call them code languages. They have syntax and what are essentially parts of speech. There are actions (verbs), items doing actions (subjects), and items acted upon (objects). They even have punctuation. Granted, some of the ways the code grammar breaks English grammar can take some getting used to, but they truly have a lot in common.

You Might Like Coding If…

• You like problem-solving: Figuring out the logic for making something work – or work better – is a huge part of writing code. You can’t code without it.
• You’re comfortable communicating plans and processes with others: Devs generally work in a team, and being able to communicate with each other not only keeps the project on track, it also makes sure that different people’s parts of the code work together. In fact, the ability to communicate can help you get hired over someone who codes better but doesn’t communicate well. They can teach you to code better. Teaching people to communicate is much harder.
• You’re an independent worker: Yes, you’ll be part of a team, but you’ll also be expected to work on your own for hours and either make progress or ask for help if you run into trouble.
• You don’t get really frustrated if you make mistakes: Just like punctuation errors, mistakes in code are a part of life. You have to accept that to survive.
• You like/don’t mind troubleshooting: Just like you have to fix problems in your novel before turning it over for publishing, you have to fix problems in your code before it gets used. In fact, identifying the cause of an error can be the hardest part of an entire code project.
• You like doing research / learning on your own: The field continues to grow, and you’ll need to, too. There are myriad resources available so long as you can teach yourself.
• You’re comfortable using a computer, and you’re not afraid to learn more. If you can confidently check your email, browse the internet, and use Microsoft Office apps, you should be fine. While additional knowledge is useful, you don’t have to be a computer expert to start learning to code (I’m definitely not!).

How to Become a Developer

Unlike most fields today, the demand for skilled programmers is so high that you don’t need a degree in computer science to get a job as a developer. In fact, you don’t need a degree at all. You can teach yourself to code or go to a coding bootcamp. Some companies do prefer you have a degree (or pay more if you have one), but for many of them, it could be a degree completely unrelated to programming so long as you demonstrate your coding skills.

It all depends on whether a company has the time/energy to train people. Those that don’t look for people with computer science degrees or several years of experience. Those that do have the time/energy hire beginners (junior devs), and once you have some on-the-job experience, the rest of them don’t care what you did before.

2. Business Analyst

I don’t know about you, but I’d never heard of a business analyst until I started working as a developer. Their job is essentially to help the developers and the client to communicate with each other. It helps if they have a basic understanding of coding (if only to know what is possible and what isn’t), but they don’t have to know how to program.

They basically…

1. help identify the client’s needs / requirements,
2. keep detailed notes on those requirements, meetings, etc.,
3. check with developers about what is possible / plausible given time and resources,
4. update the client on progress / questions / concerns, and
5. training clients on their new software/website.

Training might not always be part of the job. In fact, I get the impression that there are core tasks and others that may be some added or removed based on the company and exact field. But most of these will likely be involved.

You Might Like Being a Business Analyst If…

• You like taking notes: Documenting the work that has been done and the client’s opinions and needs are a big part of the job.
• You like talking to people: You may not have to do it every day, but you would need to communicate with clients or team members regularly. A lot can be done by email or messaging now. Personally, I like talking to people sometimes, and there are only a few points in a project when this job makes me do it a little more often than I’d prefer. ;-p
• You like / don’t mind meetings: They won’t be all of your job, but especially at the beginning of a project, you could be in several meetings to talk to the client(s) and ask them questions.
• You can make and present slides: Sometimes, you’ll run all or part of a meeting. That means making and presenting the graphics used while you’re talking (remember: as far as words go, on a slide, less is more).
• You like / don’t mind data entry and analysis: This will matter more in some companies than others, but there may be times when you need to add data to a software or interpret surveys or analytics as part of the job. So if you like that, it’s something that works well with this position.
• You’re comfortable using a computer, and you’re not afraid to learn more. The same rules apply as for coding, but you’re almost certainly going to need to learn to use a specific software as part of this job (either the software made by your company or the software used by it). So being comfortable learning new software is good.

How to Become a Business Analyst

I think there are degrees in business analysis now, but any degree that includes communication skills could probably work. Especially if you have any knowledge of coding. It is more likely to require a degree than coding, but, actually, a lot of people start in development and switch to being a business analyst because of communication skills / other abilities.

There are probably business-analyst-type positions in other fields, as well, that have similar skills required. They may just have different names (I don’t know.).

3. Information Architect

An information architect is someone who helps create the organization for a website or piece of software. They determine…

• how items are labeled,
• where/how actions are accessed, and
• where/how items are stored.

If you think of how you move through a website or app, there are names or symbols that you click on that lead to other pages and items to click on. What is available to be clicked on and where it takes you is designed by the information architect.

You Might Like Being an Information Architect If…

• You like organizing stuff. It seems obvious, but that is most of the job. If this a “no” for you, skip pursuing this career.
• You like research: Before you can organize something, you have to find out everything that needs to be included, right?
• You like interviewing and communicating with others: Yes, that’s research, but it’s a different skillset than most people think of with the word, “research.” And to really understand a client’s goals and needs, you need to be comfortable asking them a plethora of questions (and coming up with the right questions to ask).
• You like thinking of different possibilities: I know – that’s a bit vague. What I mean is that you consider the steps the user would take if he/she starts at x screen and wants to find z. Then, you consider the same user starting from y screen and trying to find z. And so on. These are called user journeys, and it’s honestly a lot like plotting (In fact, information architects often used a technique called card sorting, and when used with user journeys, it’s essentially plotting with post-its.).
• You’re comfortable representing information graphically: This can mean creating a PowerPoint presentation to explain concepts or displaying the organization you’ve created – usually using a tool that’s made for the job.
• You like analyzing data / statistics: Data on user-behavior and site / app statistics heavily influence information architecture decisions. Given a choice between what we think or guess users will do and what data shows that users generally do, it’s safest to go with the data because, let’s face it, there’s no guarantee that most users think the same way you do.
• You’re comfortable using a computer, and you’re not afraid to learn more. Like a business analyst, it’s definitely useful for an information architect to have some understanding of development and code – that will help you identify client needs and potential problems/solutions. Depending on the field you’re in, you might need to be able to write some code yourself (code languages used with data analysis are particularly popular).

How to Become an Information Architect

There are fewer degrees or official training fields in information architecture (IA) because it’s still a relatively new field. Many end up edging into IA from a UX/UI design background while others come to it from a coding background. A variety of degrees could be a useful starting point, but you 100% need to get the required skills. So focus on options that include the skills you want.

Other Careers in Tech

There are other careers in tech that could work for you based on how much you like talking to people. Sales and training positions, for instance. And while the ability to write code is in high demand, the ability to communicate code ideas to clients and client ideas to code is even more rare. If you can learn enough code to communicate effectively in both directions, you have an extremely good chance at a long and profitable career.

Not only that – a career that uses enough of the same skills used for writing that you might even like it. Imagine that.

Questions?

If anyone would like to ask any questions about these tech fields or my experience making this career change, please, feel free to comment. I will answer as best I can.

-Em