Teachers and Tech Writers

I was recently with a group of public school teachers and listened as they discussed the new school year. As the conversation became more detailed and nuanced, I realized that teachers and tech writers have much in common, both positive and negative.

Overall Purpose

Both teachers and tech writers exist to explain complex concepts in simple terms, adapting the messaging for the large and various levels of their audience.

You might think a teacher, particularly in the younger grades, would have a pretty known and static group, but you'd be wrong. The classroom is made up of students who do not speak English (requiring the teacher to provide translated materials for every communication), those with learning disabilities, and those who are coming from homes in which basic societal functioning has been learned (not potty trained, no concept of sharing, verbally abusive, etc.).

And that doesn’t account for the parents, who represent every spectrum from a political, economic, and religious perspective. These perspectives form parents’ views on public education and the role of a teacher, which then influences the child’s acceptance of the environment.

Tech writers have the same broad spectrum reading their documentation that must be considered.

Communication Skills

Teachers and tech writers need to communicate effectively with clear and concise communication skills, capturing and maintaining audience attention through material that, while we know it is necessary, may not be of interest to the audience at that time.

Both groups deal with low attention spans, readers skipping ahead, and distractions from technology.

Support and Value

The average starting salary for a teacher in the US is $42k, and almost a third of all school districts pay less than $40k. Teachers are called out when their children perform poorly, but successful career people rarely return and thank their kindergarten teacher.

Tech writers are paid far less than developers and PMs with significantly less education and experience, and they often don’t get recognition when a project or feature succeeds and users (and potential customers) leverage documentation about the feature. Content ratings receive negative feedback that is often more about the product, but rarely does anyone leave a note when the documentation helps them solve their problem.

Teachers and tech writers are like referees and umpires in sports; they are ignored when successful and only noticed when you feel they have erred.

Anyone Can Do It

Both professions suffer from a standard narrative that the skills required are a commodity rather than a craft that requires training and experience to perfect, partly because everyone teaches and writes in their own lives.

Of course, just because you taught your kid something doesn’t mean you’d be successful teaching 25 strangers from different starting points, and just because you dabble at blogging doesn’t mean you can communicate instructions to thousands of people.

But some feel that way.

It’s why we have home-schooling, and one political party in the US pushes vouchers and private schools. In corporate America, many companies use AI or cheaper internal resources in the call center to replace experienced tech writers.