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

What is a technical writer lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Randall Auxier,

Shane Tilton Ph.D.

The average technical writer lead salary is $66,624. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an english major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a technical writer lead. Technical writer leads with a Certified Technical Professional (CTP) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

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

Randall Auxier

Professor of Philosophy and Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Being the writer in your workplace can be seriously enhanced by the ability to do animation, illustration, graphics, charts, and to create good-looking documents with publishing software (e.g., Indesign). Being only the writer is limiting by comparison. Working with images of all kinds is almost as important as the writing.

ScoreTechnical Writer LeadUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,624

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 8.69%

Black or African American 6.60%

Hispanic or Latino 7.78%

Unknown 4.97%

White 71.60%

Gender

female 46.48%

male 53.52%

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 technical writer lead

Explore technical writer lead education requirements

Most common technical writer lead degrees

Bachelor's

70.9 %

Master's

13.0 %

Associate

11.5 %

Start to develop specific technical writer lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Technical Documentation	8.04%
Subject Matter Experts	6.63%
Maintenance Procedures	6.32%
Status Reports	5.62%
Engineering Drawings	4.61%

Complete relevant technical writer lead training and internships

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

Research technical writer lead duties and responsibilities

Coordinate meetings, write and edit documentation, maintain SharePoint database, manage high-visibility special projects in a fast-pace environment.
Design graphics and illustrations for product documentation and training materials (CorelDraw and Visio).
Model include XML, HTML, and style sheet templates, guidelines, and training sessions.
Collaborate with SMEs to understand technical specifications.

Get technical writer lead experience

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

Prepare your technical writer lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your technical writer lead 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 technical writer lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable technical writer lead resume templates

Build a professional technical writer lead 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 technical writer lead resume.

Apply for technical writer lead jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a technical writer lead 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 technical writer leads rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Technical writer lead 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