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

What is a principal technical writer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Thomas Reynolds,

Shane Tilton Ph.D.

Principal technical writers are some of the key persons in a documentation team. Found in almost every industry, these professionals possess outstanding skills in technical writing, leadership, and project development that are necessary for communicating technical information to employees, students, consumers, or the general public more effectively.

The role of a principal technical writer is a step above being a regular technical writer, which means that it comes with additional responsibilities of being a leader. That said, a principal technical writer needs to have the skills to manage a team and achieve monthly goals. Aside from being a good leader, a principal technical writer should also be detail-oriented, highly communicative, and committed to delivering quality content for the company.

Many principal technical writers have at least a bachelor's degree or a master's degree. Common majors include English, journalism, business, and writing. However, one can become a principal technical writer even with an unrelated degree or no degree at all--with enough experience and self-taught technical writing skills, there is always a possibility of attaining this role.

What general advice would you give to a principal technical writer?

Thomas Reynolds

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Minnesota

I think there will be a lasting impact of this pandemic on graduates. The nature of the field is that others in the industry (scientists, engineers, for ex.) often take on tech writing and communication tasks in tight economic conditions, or even just as a matter of a particular culture in a particular business. However, the field of technical communication has been predicted to have a strong future (see Bureau of Labor Statistics, which predicts growth in jobs in this field).

Technical writing and communication require that students are comfortable with technology and communication and that they adapt to changing situations. I think there are also opportunities for savvy graduates who can offer certain skills and experiences that are unique to the changing situation. This field has a long history of resilience for its graduates seeking jobs in tough circumstances.

ScorePrincipal Technical WriterUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,896

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 8.78%

Black or African American 6.71%

Hispanic or Latino 7.89%

Unknown 4.99%

White 71.28%

Gender

female 48.10%

male 51.90%

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 principal technical writer

Explore principal technical writer education requirements

Most common principal technical writer degrees

Bachelor's

73.3 %

Master's

16.5 %

Associate

7.4 %

Start to develop specific principal technical writer skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	18.05%
Develop User	12.26%
XML	5.76%
API	4.94%
Technical Publications	4.79%

Complete relevant principal technical writer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principal 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 principal technical writer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principal technical writer resumes.

Research principal technical writer duties and responsibilities

Manage acquisition and implementation of DITA component content management (CCM) system.
Create and manage print and online documentation for Linux and web-base security software.
Pioneer conversion of FrameMaker documents to XML (DITA), including definition of standards and creation of initial phrase libraries.
Research data scrubbing, data profiling, and ETL technologies.

Get principal technical writer experience

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

Prepare your principal technical writer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your principal 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 principal 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 principal technical writer resume templates

Build a professional principal 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 principal technical writer resume.

Apply for principal technical writer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a principal technical writer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do principal technical writers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Principal technical writer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2020

Pros

Diversified projects and project responsibilities.

Cons

Needing to continually explain to supposedly more educated persons the basic writing and grammar mistakes when proofreading.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020