But I could well be the best example of how lucrative technical writing is for Indians today. Let me explain.
Roughly twelve years ago, armed with a post graduate degree and a few thousand rupees to start with, I arrived with starry dreams of making it big in the city of dreams. At that time I had no inkling of what I would be doing for a living, even five years down the line. I just wanted to be in a profession where I could write and earn money. The natural choices were newspapers, or multimedia, which was hot at that time. Why multimedia? Well, I was told they needed good content and creative guys churning this out by the hour. I was their guy.
So I landed a job in the coveted multimedia profession. I would not say coveted multimedia company though – it was a small firm run by my cousin who was a professional photographer turned entrepreneur, who dreamt of making big bucks through website designing and such. I was young; the blood that flowed in my veins was a wee bit warmer than it should have been, and so there I was.
Fast forward five years and two more ‘creative’ jobs. I was a content developer at a website design company, with a staff of twenty. The NASDAQ had just plummeted, the so called ‘dotcoms’ had become smaller than dots, and my career was on the brink of being erased.
Enter Technical Writing.
During the year I started working, that is around 1997, technical writing had indeed begun making news. I read about it in the papers, my room-mate who was a software engineer, would often rib me about taking that up as a profession instead of my ‘multimedia’ outfit that could not cover half my expenses in the big bad city (I had to borrow money from my father for the first couple of years). But for me, technical writing was nothing but an effort at documenting boring technical jargon, and lifeless illustrations with lines and crosses. Not for me, no sir. I was destined for greatness. Or so I thought. Until the 2001 NASDAQ crash.
Things were a bit different this time round. I was married and I had to think of feeding not two, but three mouths – yes, we were in the family way. My salary started arriving as an EMI, which was alarming to say the least. It was then that I heard the words ‘technical writing’ for the second time in my life. But I was a little less intolerant now.
I had to consider the following irresistible facts about my prospective employer:
My prospective employer was a cash-rich company, and hence recession proof in many ways. Plus, they were hiring in India. Quite the contrary to what was happening in the US.
My writing abilities had won my hiring manager over, and he had reluctantly agreed to the pay packet I had asked for.
My friend who worked in that company as a business developer had vouched for the fact that my pay cheque would promptly arrive on the 31st of every month, come what may. Not in equated monthly installments.
For the first time in my life, the creative guy in me flinched. Should I, should I not? There was too much at stake, and too little time to dilly dally. I took the job. And never looked back.
Today, I earn more than five times of what I used to earn as a content developer. My daughter goes to a very good school, I bought a home a few years back, my wife decided to take a break from work, I have a mid-sized car that transports the three of us safe and sound, I have insured my family members and my parents…in other words, I’m in a position where I don’t have to worry about my family’s needs. And from what I hear of the ‘creative’ writing profession, it is still not there, in terms of money.
At hind sight, though it did indeed seem like a compromise, I think I stuck on to technical writing not just for the money, but the large canvas it offered in terms of learning new technologies. It is an exciting place to be in. Of course, there is good money, but there is also a lot of hard work and sustenance.
In my seven years as a technical writer, these are my best-arrived-at conclusions as to why technical writing is indeed lucrative for Indian writers:
Indians are highly adaptable.
Most technical writing jobs are US based, so the salaries are good.
Indians are capable of putting in long hours – while this might not be so good for their health; it certainly is for visibility, promotion and consequently pay hikes. We understand that.
Indians can grasp technology easily (comes with natural survival instincts)
Of course, I would not go so far saying technical writing is lucrative for anybody and everybody who decides to take it up. There are a few basic requirements – good writing skills, an aptitude for technology and technology-related writing, and of course, a solid grasp over English. If you possess all of these, you have it made.
It is just a matter of landing at the right place.
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—About our writer:
Sri is a writer with a malignant 'humor' in his head. He finds life's 'grays' very amusing and intriguing at the same time. He is after that elusive debut novel, but not for long, he believes.
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