This is a topic that’s been on my mind lately, since in each of my technical writing jobs, I’ve been attached to a different business area or team (sometimes changing areas/teams within the same company). And of course, I’m currently looking for a new job…

I’ve yet to decide which ‘location’ I prefer, to be honest – any in which I have direct access to the subject matter experts (SMEs) will suit me just fine!

In no particular order, here are some examples of where a technical writer can be placed in a company (as always, these examples come from my personal experience in documenting software, and can hopefully be extrapolated to other types of technical writing):

Part of an independent technical writing team with its own manager
This has to be a strong position! It’s always great to have other technical writers around you (whether you’re the manager or the managed). A downside can be that you’re not connected to the SMEs such as developers, testers, support or customer services – and that’s much worse if you’re contracted out of your own company.

Part of a technical writing team attached to development or testing, and managed by their manager
Again, not bad. You have other technical writers for support, plus (generally) direct access to the SMEs. I’ve found it more useful to be attached to the development team than to the testing team, so that I could get information right from the source, but either is a good position.

A lone technical writer attached to development or testing, and managed by their manager
This is great for building good relationships with the SMEs, especially since you’ll be relying on them to review your documents, but it can be horribly lonely without anyone who understands your deep passion for correct grammar and punctuation. On the plus side, you’re often in charge of the operation and can set your own (high) standards for the documents.

Anyone got any other scenarios to add?

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