From teaching to tech: 5 ways my education background helps me in my tech career
My senior year crisis
Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. It felt so natural to me. The field is composed of so many things I was, and still am, passionate about: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, relationship building, mentorship, empowerment, leadership, helping and serving as a role model and resource for others…
I went into college fully confident. I was going to be an English teacher — I’d known this for years.
As I progressed through my studies, a feeling of discouragement began creeping in. I wasn’t connecting with my studies like I always imagined I would. The reality of the field was different than what I dreamt it to be. I stuck with it, though; I figured everything would fall into place before graduation.
It didn’t.
At the beginning of my senior year, everything became painfully clear: I didn’t want to be a teacher anymore. I panicked. I was a great teacher, and I still wanted to make a difference. I didn’t know what I was going to do. So, I channeled my panic into research. I was searching for a field that would intrigue me, complement my skillset, and allow me to pursue my passions.
At some point throughout my research, I discovered technical communication. It seemed to check all the boxes, so I enrolled in a technical communication course at my university. On the very first day of class, I felt a spark. It was everything I was looking for.
I thought that companies would view my non-technical background as a weakness, but I’ve found that they instead view it as an asset.
Not only did it incorporate so many fundamental aspects of my background in education, but it also challenged me and expanded my thinking in ways I had never experienced before. I learned something new every day, and it was exciting. I was the only non-engineering student in the class. My classmates wanted me to review and edit their documentation, and in group projects, my groupmates relied on me to help carefully and effectively craft our documentation. I quickly learned how advantageous my experience could be in the tech world.
From there, I continued to pursue my studies, eventually starting my career in the field. I don’t have a background in tech, but that didn’t set me back like I worried it would.
I quickly learned that education is fantastic background for a career in technical communication.
If you’re considering a switch from education to technical communication, I want to share five ways my background in education helps me every day in my role in technical communication.
1. Keeping your audience in mind
Whether it’s teaching or technical communication, you have to keep your audience in mind. Each member of your audience is diverse and may require something different in order to be successful. It’s your job to find a way to help as many people in your audience as possible using effective and efficient communication and strategies.
Actively practicing empathy for your audience helps you deepen your understanding of them, learn and prioritize their needs, and implement strategies to create the most helpful documentation possible. A crucial part of this is iteration.
As a teacher, you may have trouble getting your lessons to connect with your students. As a technical communicator, your users may not connect with your documentation. When these situations inevitably arise, you must ask why and do your due diligence to improve and iterate.
I quickly learned that education is fantastic background for a career in technical communication.
2. Adaptability is the name of the game
The tech world is constantly changing. Products and services are being refined, new features are being released, exciting innovations are in the works. When working in the tech space, you’re pretty much always kept on your toes. Your priorities can shift in the matter of a minute.
Education does a great job preparing you for a fast-paced, constantly changing environment. The same can be said for a teacher. If you’ve ever been a teacher, you know that each day is different. Your students might require different things from you from day to day. You need to understand how to shift your priorities and context-switch between numerous tasks.
3. Knowing how to effectively build relationships with others and be a team player
Teaching is an extremely social job. You’re pretty much working and collaborating with others all day every day. You frequently have students practice their teamwork skills. You understand that teamwork boosts efficiency, innovation, and a sense of community. It helps improve communication skills and provides incredible opportunities for connection and professional and personal development.
Working with others exposes you to diverse perspectives and experiences, and this exchange of diverse ways of thinking contributes to the overall success of your work and your growth as a human being.
While jobs in technical communication typically involve more independent work, you still spend a solid amount of time working and communicating with others. Your relationship building and teamwork skills from your experience in the education field will help you immensely in your role as a technical communicator. You know how important it is to incorporate diverse perspectives and opinions into your work, and you’re more likely to seek these perspectives out when creating documentation.
4. Ownership and leadership skills
As a teacher, you’re not just a teacher; you’re a leader, a project manager and project owner, a coach, a role model, a cheerleader — the list goes on.
As an effective leader, you understand the different hats you may need to wear to best serve your students. You know when to be the cheerleader and when to be the coach. You know when you can expect more from a student or when that student may need to be given some grace. You take responsibility for your job, your lessons, your growth.
If things don’t work out as you planned, you take ownership and look for ways to improve processes, practices, and strategies. If things work out better than you planned, you own that, too.
Working with others exposes you to diverse perspectives and experiences, and this exchange of diverse ways of thinking contributes to the overall success of your work and your growth as a human being.
These leadership and ownership skills are extremely useful as a technical communicator. You know how to own your work and step in and get the job done.
5. Confidence and comfortability with public speaking
Speaking in front of a group can be nerve wracking, but it’s a component of many jobs. As a technical communicator, I often organize and lead meetings with others, such as project managers, teammates, my manager, etc. I frequently find myself in situations where I need to communicate with or “in front of” a group or another individual.
My experience in education helped me develop and strengthen my public speaking skills tremendously, and this has helped me in my everyday work (as well as in interviews!).
In summary…
There are many more ways my education background helps me as a technical communicator. Whatever apprehensions I had when entering the field quickly vanished as I settled into my role in the tech field. I thought that companies would view my non-technical background as a weakness, but I’ve found that they instead view it as an asset.
I wanted to share this because I wish I would’ve known this when leaving education. As much as I believed in myself and my abilities, I had moments of doubt. We all do. But now, I have no shred of doubt in my mind that I’m capable, qualified, and an asset to any team — even without a technical background. And you are, too.
I understand and empathize with the immense challenges and lack of support teachers have been facing, especially in recent years. The average tenure of a teacher is two years — so many incredible teachers are leaving the profession, and so many of them have no idea what to explore next. I’m here to tell you that technical communication is definitely worth exploring.
If you’re thinking about moving from education to technical communication, do it!
You’re more prepared than you might think.
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