You've just purchased a new computer and, like many people, you must go over the owner's manual in order to set it up and begin using it. The person responsible for putting that manual into an understandable form is a technical writer.

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A technical writer "acts as a translator," says Thomas Moran, chair of the Technical Communications program at Rochester Institute of Technology. Today's high-tech environment demands skilled writers who can prepare clear and effective technical instructions, proposals, specifications, reports and even online documentation.

Moran says that a technical writer must be able to soak up information quickly, understand uses of documentation and be able to write step-by-step instructions. "It is a very different kind of prose."

To gain a better understanding of the subject they are dealing with, technical writers also must read trade journals and interview those who work in production and engineering. As technologies advance and work procedures change, they also make changes to existing company documentation.

In addition to writing, they also edit and standardize the work of other professionals in their organization.

Technical writers work in a variety of industries such as computer hardware and software, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and virtually all electronics industries.

According to Moran a good technical writer "has to be very, very versatile. They must be able to write for a variety of different audiences." One document they prepare may be for communication from engineer to engineer. The next may be from engineer to layperson.

Many start out as professionals such as technicians, engineers or scientists and acquire the necessary writing skills through continuing education programs such as the two undergraduate certificate programs in technical communication offered at RIT.

Due to the growth in technology and the limited number of writers who are able to handle such technical material, job growth in the field is expected to be 21 percent to 35 percent through 2006, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The field is growing substantially because our lives are depending more and more on technology," says Moran.

The Technical Communicator's Salary Survey, taken in 1996, indicates that the median annual salary for technical writers is approximately $44,000.