Occupational Description

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

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Technical Writers

Employment Outlook for Technical Writers

Statewide Employment Analysis	2008 employment is estimated to be at about the regional average. This occupation is expected to grow at a somewhat slower rate than the regional average. Total job openings are projected to be at about the regional average. Limited employment opportunities exist for trained workers.

Data Sources and Limitations

Current Employment Department Job Openings for Technical Writers There are 5 current openings for this occupation. Openings 1 through 5 are listed below.

Job Title	Date Posted	Location	Wage Offered
Addie Instruction / Development Designer Dreamweaver Cs4 Robohelp 7.0	6/30/10	Hillsboro	DOE
Aviation Technical Writer	7/27/10	Salem
Technical Writer	7/26/10	Hillsboro	$18.00/hr to $20.00/hr DOE
Digital Inspections - Technical Writer (Part-Time)	7/28/10	Corvallis
Technical Writer 3-Proddev	9/1/10	Hillsboro

Job Openings from the Web for Technical Writers The following job openings have been automatically extracted from various sites across the Web. These links are provided as supplemental resources. However, the Employment Department cannot validate these openings nor endorse any of these external sites. Some of these jobs may no longer be open. In some cases, a single opening may be posted on multiple sites.

There are 24 current openings for this occupation. Openings 1 through 24 are listed below.

Job Title	Date Posted	Location	Employer
Proposal Writer	8/30/10	McMinnville	Evergreen International Aviation
Technical Writer 3-ProdDev	8/30/10	Hillsboro	Oracle Corporation
Technical Writer	8/28/10	Portland	Kforce Professional Staffing, Inc.
Technical Writer	8/28/10	Portland	Kforce Professional Staffing, Inc.
Technical Writer	8/27/10	Salem	Mavensoft Technologies, LLC
Technical Writer - Contractor	8/26/10	Lake Oswego	EthicsPoint, Inc.
Technical Documentation Manager	8/25/10	Portland	Vestas American Wind Technology
Technical Writer	8/18/10	Portland	Rentrak Corporation
Technical Writer (Expert)	8/13/10	Beaverton	Sunrise Systems Inc
Technical Writer - Expert level !	8/13/10	Beaverton	Sunrise Systems Inc
Regional Proposal Writer - -	8/6/10	Beaverton
Proposal Set Up Spec	8/3/10	Portland	Standard Insurance Company
Technical Writer	8/3/10	Portland	Standard Insurance Company
Regional Proposal Writer - -	8/3/10	Beaverton	Appleone
Technical Writer	7/28/10	Hillsboro
Digital Inspections - Technical Writer (Part-time)	7/26/10	Corvallis	KEMA
Technical Writer Oregon-Portland 15695	7/21/10	Portland
Technical Writer	7/20/10	Portland	Standard Insurance Company
Technical Writer	7/16/10	Wilsonville	Mentor Graphics
Talented Writers Wanted	7/8/10	Bend
Bloggers and Writers Wanted	7/8/10	Portland
Procedure Specialist - Roseburg	7/7/10	Roseburg	Umpqua Bank
Contract Technical Writer	6/15/10	Beaverton	Acs
Technical Writer Framemaker Html Adobe Word Visio	6/5/10	Hillsboro

State of Oregon License Information for Technical Writers No statewide license is required for this occupation.

Wages for Technical Writers

Region	---------------- 2010 Wages ----------------
	Percentiles (hourly wages)					Avg Hourly ($/hr)	Avg Annual
	10th	25th	50th (median)	75th	90th
Oregon Statewide	$18.16	$22.63	$31.98	$38.43	$44.97	$31.14	$64,756
Multnomah / Washington	19.52	26.28	33.80	39.75	46.58	32.92	68,473
Marion / Polk / Yamhill	17.03	21.00	26.88	36.52	40.14	28.22	58,705
Benton / Lincoln / Linn	20.05	23.88	27.97	31.42	47.01	29.19	60,704
Lane	16.73	17.79	19.60	30.43	38.54	23.93	49,777
Crook / Deschutes / Jefferson	24.89	27.29	29.46	31.63	32.90	28.99	60,297
Clackamas	21.56	29.32	35.34	39.52	45.73	33.83	70,377

Data Sources and Limitations

Regional Employment Projections for Technical Writers

Region	Employment		Change	% Change	Projected Annual Openings
	2008	2018			Growth	Replacement	Total
Oregon Statewide	758	813	55	7.3%	6	13	18
Multnomah / Washington	464	511	47	10.1%	5	8	13
Lane	82	83	1	1.2%	0	1	1
Clackamas	59	63	4	6.8%	0	1	1
Marion / Polk / Yamhill	31	34	3	9.7%	0	1	1
Benton / Lincoln / Linn	27	31	4	14.8%	0	1	1
Crook / Deschutes / Jefferson	18	19	1	5.6%	0	0	0
Jackson / Josephine	8	10	2	25.0%	0	0	0
Morrow / Umatilla	4	4	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Douglas	3	3	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Klamath / Lake	3	3	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Coos / Curry	2	2	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Baker / Union / Wallowa	1	1	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Grant / Harney / Malheur	1	1	0	0.0%	0	0	0
Gilliam / Hood River / Sherman / Wheeler / Wasco	1	2	1	100.0%	0	0	0

Data Sources and Limitations

Industries of Employment for Technical Writers

Industry Click links to view infoUSA employers	Ownership	2008 Employment
Total, All Industries	All	758
Total, All Industries	Private	739
Manufacturing	Private	211
Machinery Manufacturing	Private	26
Industrial Machinery Manufacturing	Private	14
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	Private	154
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	Private	11
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	Private	101
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	Private	36
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	Private	14
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	Private	12
Wholesale Trade	Private	10
Information	Private	226
Publishing Industries (except Internet)	Private	161
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers	Private	19
Software Publishers	Private	142
Internet Service Providers, Web Search Portals, and Data Processing Services	Private	51
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services	Private	51
Finance and Insurance	Private	22
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	Private	13
Insurance Carriers	Private	13
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	Private	165
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	Private	37
Computer Systems Design and Related Services	Private	102
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	Private	14
Management of Companies and Enterprises	Private	43
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	Private	34
Administrative and Support Services	Private	33
Employment Services	Private	29
Total, All Industries	Federal	10
Federal Government (Non-Postal)	Federal	10

Educational Requirements for Technical Writers Workers must have a bachelor's degree to gain the necessary skills for this occupation. However, those with a bachelor's degree and related work experience have a competitive advantage in this labor market.

Skills for Technical Writers

• Analyze Audience
• Apply Page Layout And Composition Techniques
• Convert Information Into Instructional Program
• Design Tables Depicting Data
• Evaluate Data From Engineering Projects
• Explain Complex Mathematical Information
• Interpret And Apply Copyright Laws
• Interpret Detailed Electronic Design Specifications
• Interpret Technical Information For Journalistic Work
• Make Presentations
• Meet Deadlines
• Organize And Sort Journalistic Or Literary Data
• Prepare Materials For Publication
• Proofread, Edit, And Revise Written Materials
• Read Schematics And Specifications
• Research Work-Related Topics Using Library Resources
• Test For Usability Of Document Or System
• Understand Publishing Formats And Technologies, Including The Internet
• Understand, Use, And Communicate Technical Information
• Use Correct Grammar, Punctuation And Spelling
• Use Desktop Publishing Software
• Use Interviewing Techniques
• Use On-Line Search Techniques
• Use Proofreading Symbols
• Work As A Team Member
• Write Administrative Procedures Manual
• Write And Compile Employee Training Materials
• Write Grant Proposals
• Write Technical Papers From Original Research
• Write Technical Specifications For Computer Systems, Software And Applications
• Write Technical Specifications For Electrical Or Electronic Equipment

Schools and Training Providers for Technical Writers No programs of training are associated with this occupation.

Career Pathway Roadmaps for Technical Writers No Career Pathway links were found for this occupation.

Related Occupations The scores listed below indicates how closely the skills for Technical Writers matches the occupation in the list. A score of 100% means the occupations have identical skill sets. A maximum of 10 occupations are displayed below.

Occupation	Skill Overlap
Writers And Authors	30%