7: Technical writer

Now, I’m not talking about bloggers and their ilk, but the folks who do things like write product manuals and help files. There is a reason why these tasks often fall on the shoulders of the developers, even when the company is willing to spend the money on hiring a technical writer: It is hard to find people who can write coherently, in a language that the end user can grasp, and who understand the technical side of things! This isn’t a matter of hiring an English major who is “tech savvy” like people assume, either. Technical writers are hard to find, and good ones are even tougher.

8: Product evangelist

The product evangelists are the “face of the company” when it comes to the technical side of their business. They are the ones giving presentations at technical conferences around the world, hanging out in forums answering questions, constantly blogging, reaching out to folks on social media… and at the same time, they need to be on the cutting edge of their industry’s technical knowledge. Few IT jobs involve as much travel as product evangelist. The right person needs to have an absolute passion for the work and for the company and its specific products, as well as the technical knowledge and soft skills to handle the job. This means that even if someone is a great evangelist at one company, he or she will probably be a poor hire for any other company doing the same job.

9: IT author

Writing technical blogs and articles is often seen as an easy job, and most of us are doing it as a secondary job. (Only a few folks can put a roof over their head with this work.) There are plenty of technical people out there who can use some extra money. All the same, it’s a bear to find people who are not only willing to give it a shot, but who will stick with it long enough to really become “part of the team.”

10: Maintenance/legacy programmer

Most programmers have seen these jobs before; they are typically disguised as something else, because so few developers want them. What are they? Jobs involving the maintenance of existing applications, often ones that have been around a long time and written in a legacy technology. Few programmers are willing to take these jobs because they are the kiss of death for a career. In an industry where “cutting edge” today is “obsolete” in a few years, working with technology already considered “legacy” means that you are likely to be stuck with the job for a long, long time unless you are willing and able to reinvent yourself outside the workforce.

State the following sentences as true or false:

1. IT trainers, product evangelists and pre-sales engineers don’t need to travel.

2. People with PMP certification are expensive and difficult to find.

3. Leadership positions are diffucult to fill.

4. Help desk jobs offer good payment.

5. There’s a small number of specialized programmers.

6. Technical writer must write coherently, in a language that the end user can grasp, and who understands the technical side of things.

7. Writing technical blogs and articles isn’t an easy job.

8. Maintenance/legacy programmers involve the maintenance of existing applications, often written in a legacy technology.