How To Become A Health Technical Writer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a health technical writer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Shane Tilton Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a health technical writer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.09 an hour? That's $58,430 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for a health technical writer?

Shane Tilton Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Multimedia Journalism, Ohio Northern University

This line of evidence is pointing to one central truth. Those that practiced multimedia journalism techniques before the pandemic will find success now. Also, organizations are looking for those graduates that can be a "one-stop-shop" for producing stories from home. I don't believe that trend will change. This trend also addresses the third question. Graduates are leaving colleges better prepared to use computer-mediated communication tools to complete their jobs' essential tasks. They understand how to be engaging and communicate effectively via their more contemporary communication tools.

ScoreHealth Technical WriterUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,430

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 7.24%

Black or African American 4.67%

Hispanic or Latino 5.96%

Unknown 4.67%

White 77.10%

Gender

female 50.00%

male 50.00%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a health technical writer

Explore health technical writer education requirements

Most common health technical writer degrees

Bachelor's

80.0 %

Master's

13.3 %

Associate

6.7 %

Start to develop specific health technical writer skills

Skills	Percentages
SharePoint	60.08%
Adobe Acrobat	30.89%
RoboHelp	9.02%

Complete relevant health technical writer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health technical writers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health technical writer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health technical writer resumes.

Research health technical writer duties and responsibilities

Help company achieve ISO registration by determining best practices, writing ISO compliant manufacturing instructions and teaching best manufacturing processes.
Used RoboHelp online help development software on a regular basis to update DBSS online help.
Create a building navigator SharePoint site with information and diagrams for each building, with associate LAN closets and MDFs.
Receive buy-in from senior management to leverage SharePoint as an information repository.

Get health technical writer experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a health technical writer. The most common roles before becoming a health technical writer include technical writer, senior technical writer team lead and technical editor.

Prepare your health technical writer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health technical writer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health technical writer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable health technical writer resume templates

Build a professional health technical writer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your health technical writer resume.