51112 Technical writers

What this occupation covers

Technical writers write manuals and specifications for publication or presentation. They are employed by governments, large corporations, private consulting firms, publishing firms, and other establishments, or they may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 6 main duties for this code.

• Analyze material, such as specifications, notes and drawings
• Conduct interviews and research to gather information on a specific field
• Write, review and update manuals, user guides and other documents to provide instruction and to explain clearly and concisely the installation, operation and maintenance of software and electronic, mechanical and other equipment
• Develop and maintain help documentation
• May design and develop training course material
• May help create content for software products, such as on-screen instructions and error messages.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 6 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 51111 Authors and writers (except technical)
• 51110 Editors
• 51113 Journalists
• 51121 Conductors, composers and arrangers
• 51114 Translators, terminologists and interpreters

Excluded from this code

• Authors and writers (See 51111 Authors and writers (except technical))
• Editors (See 51110 Editors)
• Journalists (See 51113 Journalists)
• Songwriter (See 51121 Conductors, composers and arrangers)
• Translators, terminologists and interpreters (See 51114 Translators, terminologists and interpreters)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

content writer (technical) · handbook writer · help file developer · instructional designer · manual writer · medical writer · on-line reference developer · programmed-instruction writer · proposal writer · scientific writer · self-instruction manual writer · specifications writer (except construction) · standards writer · support materials writer · technical writer · technical writer - aeronautics · technical writer - chemical processing · technical writer - electronics equipment · technical writer - pharmaceutical industry

Employment requirements

• A university degree in the area of specialization, such as computer science or engineering is usually required.