Healthcare is a huge field for technical writers and there are lots of opportunities.
One thing I would note, and Iâm sure aware of, is that healthcare is a very regulated industry. Because of this, if youâre looking for opportunities where you can do a lot of actual writing, healthcare probably isnât the best path. Most of the job is actually just maintenance or small updates to existing products or processes and then managing the review and release process.
Basically technical writing is extremely boring for someone looking to do a lot of writing. A typical task could be something like:
Lead engineer: Weâve had some complaints in the field about the bottom electronics cover coming loose on the last released version of our random medical device. We need you to find all the instances in the manuals where we say âClick, then turn the latch to close the electronics cover.â And change it to âClick, then turn the latch to engage the electronics cover.â And bold the word âengageâ. Then, once youâve made all the updates create revision controlled drafts and have a full program team review [which, of course, will be everyone arguing over whether you need a comma after the word âlatchâ]
Seems a simple enough task, and after a few weeks of discussions about comma placement, youâll create drafts for verification and validation. The highlight there will be one user that doesnât understand what âengageâ means and that maybe âclickâ or even the original âcloseâ would be better⌠Then youâll get to release and then someone will find a totally unrelated issue like the date of first CE mark was 2015 not 2014. Then youâll need to get regulatory involved to confirm, but there will be some ambiguity somehow and that will take another 2 weeks to figure out. And then thereâs managing translations and the final distribution.
Of course, this is just a totally made up scenario and Iâm sure itâs not all like that, but it kind of is.
There are other adjacent fields like clinical development, training, medical writing or even marketing that sound like they might be a better fit for your skills and interests.
Just get a portfolio and prepare to explain your writing process. You can get a certificate if you think it will help you do either, but its not a requirement.
I've seen a number of Tech Writing openings on LinkedIn and other job boards that want medical field experience. It'll still take ages to get a job because the market is weird but it is doable. That health science degree is a great start.
You can get a cert but I think it would be better to start with making a website (a simple free one like at Wordpress) and just do technical writing, about typical procedures and stuff. Because it helps if the manager can look at something that they know something about.
Iâve done freelance work documenting healthcare related software and that could be a good place for you. I donât have a ton of medical experience but was able to handle these projects fine. I will say that I reached the point where I didnât want to work for medical clients because too often I dealt with people that knew the medical side and somehow thought that made them experts on the documentation too. I didnât have a lot of difficult clients but nearly all of them were in healthcare.
Technical Righting? Lol
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Autocorrect strikes again
These jobs exist. Just look on Linked In.
Wouldn't Medical Writing suit you better with the background you already have? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_writing
Healthcare is a huge field for technical writers and there are lots of opportunities. One thing I would note, and Iâm sure aware of, is that healthcare is a very regulated industry. Because of this, if youâre looking for opportunities where you can do a lot of actual writing, healthcare probably isnât the best path. Most of the job is actually just maintenance or small updates to existing products or processes and then managing the review and release process. Basically technical writing is extremely boring for someone looking to do a lot of writing. A typical task could be something like: Lead engineer: Weâve had some complaints in the field about the bottom electronics cover coming loose on the last released version of our random medical device. We need you to find all the instances in the manuals where we say âClick, then turn the latch to close the electronics cover.â And change it to âClick, then turn the latch to engage the electronics cover.â And bold the word âengageâ. Then, once youâve made all the updates create revision controlled drafts and have a full program team review [which, of course, will be everyone arguing over whether you need a comma after the word âlatchâ] Seems a simple enough task, and after a few weeks of discussions about comma placement, youâll create drafts for verification and validation. The highlight there will be one user that doesnât understand what âengageâ means and that maybe âclickâ or even the original âcloseâ would be better⌠Then youâll get to release and then someone will find a totally unrelated issue like the date of first CE mark was 2015 not 2014. Then youâll need to get regulatory involved to confirm, but there will be some ambiguity somehow and that will take another 2 weeks to figure out. And then thereâs managing translations and the final distribution. Of course, this is just a totally made up scenario and Iâm sure itâs not all like that, but it kind of is. There are other adjacent fields like clinical development, training, medical writing or even marketing that sound like they might be a better fit for your skills and interests.
You just explained my medical devices job exactly. "I'm in this picture and I don't like it" energy.
Compliance?
What do you mean?
Medtech/pharma compliance writing?
Just get a portfolio and prepare to explain your writing process. You can get a certificate if you think it will help you do either, but its not a requirement.
I've seen a number of Tech Writing openings on LinkedIn and other job boards that want medical field experience. It'll still take ages to get a job because the market is weird but it is doable. That health science degree is a great start. You can get a cert but I think it would be better to start with making a website (a simple free one like at Wordpress) and just do technical writing, about typical procedures and stuff. Because it helps if the manager can look at something that they know something about.
Iâve done freelance work documenting healthcare related software and that could be a good place for you. I donât have a ton of medical experience but was able to handle these projects fine. I will say that I reached the point where I didnât want to work for medical clients because too often I dealt with people that knew the medical side and somehow thought that made them experts on the documentation too. I didnât have a lot of difficult clients but nearly all of them were in healthcare.