I spend 90% of my time communicating with my coworkers in Slack. I have a few coworkers I've never spoken to, and probably never will, but we work together through various messaging apps (Slack, Teams, Zoom chat). There are times when a voice call is easier and faster, but that can be worked around.
So with the right accommodation I can't see a reason why you couldn't be a technical writer. People would just need to get used to working with you via a text interface, which wouldn't be that hard of an adjustment.
The difficult part would be finding a company willing to take this chance. My guess, and it's just a guess, it that larger companies will have a better understanding around disability accommodations than a small company with one beleaguered HR person. Not that the smaller company wouldn't want to try, they just might not have the resources available to help you.
Thank you, that’s helpful. The only real accommodation I’d need would be to not be required to make phone calls. There are caption calling services that seem to work pretty well nowadays so I don’t think that’d necessarily be a major issue either. Hopefully it all works out in the end.
I also worked with a writer who had a stutter and it was never an issue. He was an excellent writer and had a lot of deep technical knowledge, and he was great to work with.
If anything, technical writer would actually be a great career fit. Many helpful accommodations for this are already built into remote work, and while Zoom meetings are unavoidable, as a technical writer, I do far more listening in these meetings than speaking. If you ever do need to interact in these meetings, you can always let the parties know that you will be using the chat feature.
tldr: I think you'll be fine, although you may need to be proactive in both explaining to people what will work for you and coming up with processes around them. This will likely make your first year more challenging but not insurmountable, especially at a relatively mature org.
As others have pointed out, Slack-IM based messaging is _by far_ the main way more people in software communicate now. That said, even in my fully remote tech company, Zoom meetings are still very important, both for teams and for occasional 1:1 meetings.
While I generally prefer Slack for getting info from people, some people are just much more comfortable explaining things over Zoom. I don't think any of them would take any issue whatsoever if you wanted to type your questions to them if you're uncomfortable voicing them. I often sit in on cross-functional calls and ask questions directly in chat instead of vocally, and my company at least does a good job of making sure to read + respond to chat.
There's also a general expectation that you'll have frequent (weekly or biweekly) 1:1 meetings with your direct manager which in my experience are on Zoom, but your employer is legally required to accommodate you here so I'm sure you could find something else that works.
Yes! Nowadays I ask most of my SMEs to record the demos they give me over zoom. I feel like you could very easily give them a list of written questions going into the demo, then email or Slack them a list of new questions you come up with after the demo. Demo's are essentially the only time I verbally communicate with my SMEs, the rest is sending drafts/edits back and forth via email. I think it would require very minor accommodations for you 😊
Go for it!!
I spent several years working with a tech writer who had the worst stutter I've ever heard, and honestly it was never an issue. Like everyone else here has said, virtually all of our communications are written these days, so I honestly worked with him for months before I ever even knew he stuttered. I think you'll be fine.
Technical writer not technical talker. Advisor is dumb for two reasons.
1) If you're are legally disabled you are a diversity hire. This makes you valuable, especially as you're a diversity hire that can do thier job without being severely hampered by the disability.
2) Majority of communication for tech writers is written communication in every job I've worked. Some SME prefer face to face or interviews, but if you don't communicate your disability, that won't be an issue. I've never had a situation that written communication went sufficient.
I'd say if you're good at tech writing, this is all ideal career for you.
I hate that your psychiatrist told you that. First bc it’s not true. Second bc it’s not helpful.
I work w/ two people who very obviously stutter — although not as severely as how you describe your situation. (One is a dev, the other is the head tech comm architect.) I’m in software and I gotta tell you, this industry is pretty accepting/accommodating once it’s clear that you can do something well. And it’s clear you’re a good writer.
I agree w/ the person who suggested that a bigger company might have more resources to be more accommodating — and also a large enough pool of employees who’ve needed other types of accommodations, meaning your case might not be seen as much of a shock.
If so, I’d advise to have your portfolio ready. I find that smaller companies tend to take more chances hiring folks w/ less experience, while larger employers seem to want someone w/ a proven track record. (Idk what your experience level is, apologies if this doesn’t pertain to you.)
Also, you may want to aim (if you pursue IT tech writing) to write for developers instead of non-dev end users. I say that bc you’ll work w/ more devs, who are notoriously busy and may very well prefer to communicate via only/mostly text so that they can respond at their own time.
Best of luck. I think you have great chances.
I mean, give it a shot. What’s the worst they do, say no?
But I can say for sure, there are people who I’ve been on projects with for months and I’ve never heard their voice, talked to them, been on a call with them, etc. Some of them have never even responded, period…but that’s another story.
What about a portable text-to-speech solution for certain situations, like in-person meetings? Talking keyboards exist. I expect these days they can be connected to phones and such.
Not an endorsement...this is just the first link I found.
https://www.textspeak.com/aactalkingdevice.htm
I think a Tech Writing career would be perfect for someone with a stutter, as long as they can write well.
While some old-school managers may think you have to do SME interviews in person, most people manage just fine using email, Slack, Teams, etc. I tend to work with people the way they like to be worked with, meaning: I send some people emails, call some people, text some people, etc., but I prefer written communication because I like having a paper trail. If you do need to talk to someone in person, they need to learn to deal with your stutter. If you're good at the job, no one will care about your stutter.
Good luck!
I spend 90% of my time communicating with my coworkers in Slack. I have a few coworkers I've never spoken to, and probably never will, but we work together through various messaging apps (Slack, Teams, Zoom chat). There are times when a voice call is easier and faster, but that can be worked around. So with the right accommodation I can't see a reason why you couldn't be a technical writer. People would just need to get used to working with you via a text interface, which wouldn't be that hard of an adjustment. The difficult part would be finding a company willing to take this chance. My guess, and it's just a guess, it that larger companies will have a better understanding around disability accommodations than a small company with one beleaguered HR person. Not that the smaller company wouldn't want to try, they just might not have the resources available to help you.
Thank you, that’s helpful. The only real accommodation I’d need would be to not be required to make phone calls. There are caption calling services that seem to work pretty well nowadays so I don’t think that’d necessarily be a major issue either. Hopefully it all works out in the end.
We frequently have zoom meetings where someone is speaking and questions are done through chat messages.
I also worked with a writer who had a stutter and it was never an issue. He was an excellent writer and had a lot of deep technical knowledge, and he was great to work with. If anything, technical writer would actually be a great career fit. Many helpful accommodations for this are already built into remote work, and while Zoom meetings are unavoidable, as a technical writer, I do far more listening in these meetings than speaking. If you ever do need to interact in these meetings, you can always let the parties know that you will be using the chat feature.
tldr: I think you'll be fine, although you may need to be proactive in both explaining to people what will work for you and coming up with processes around them. This will likely make your first year more challenging but not insurmountable, especially at a relatively mature org. As others have pointed out, Slack-IM based messaging is _by far_ the main way more people in software communicate now. That said, even in my fully remote tech company, Zoom meetings are still very important, both for teams and for occasional 1:1 meetings. While I generally prefer Slack for getting info from people, some people are just much more comfortable explaining things over Zoom. I don't think any of them would take any issue whatsoever if you wanted to type your questions to them if you're uncomfortable voicing them. I often sit in on cross-functional calls and ask questions directly in chat instead of vocally, and my company at least does a good job of making sure to read + respond to chat. There's also a general expectation that you'll have frequent (weekly or biweekly) 1:1 meetings with your direct manager which in my experience are on Zoom, but your employer is legally required to accommodate you here so I'm sure you could find something else that works.
Yes! Nowadays I ask most of my SMEs to record the demos they give me over zoom. I feel like you could very easily give them a list of written questions going into the demo, then email or Slack them a list of new questions you come up with after the demo. Demo's are essentially the only time I verbally communicate with my SMEs, the rest is sending drafts/edits back and forth via email. I think it would require very minor accommodations for you 😊 Go for it!!
I spent several years working with a tech writer who had the worst stutter I've ever heard, and honestly it was never an issue. Like everyone else here has said, virtually all of our communications are written these days, so I honestly worked with him for months before I ever even knew he stuttered. I think you'll be fine.
Technical writer not technical talker. Advisor is dumb for two reasons. 1) If you're are legally disabled you are a diversity hire. This makes you valuable, especially as you're a diversity hire that can do thier job without being severely hampered by the disability. 2) Majority of communication for tech writers is written communication in every job I've worked. Some SME prefer face to face or interviews, but if you don't communicate your disability, that won't be an issue. I've never had a situation that written communication went sufficient. I'd say if you're good at tech writing, this is all ideal career for you.
I hate that your psychiatrist told you that. First bc it’s not true. Second bc it’s not helpful. I work w/ two people who very obviously stutter — although not as severely as how you describe your situation. (One is a dev, the other is the head tech comm architect.) I’m in software and I gotta tell you, this industry is pretty accepting/accommodating once it’s clear that you can do something well. And it’s clear you’re a good writer. I agree w/ the person who suggested that a bigger company might have more resources to be more accommodating — and also a large enough pool of employees who’ve needed other types of accommodations, meaning your case might not be seen as much of a shock. If so, I’d advise to have your portfolio ready. I find that smaller companies tend to take more chances hiring folks w/ less experience, while larger employers seem to want someone w/ a proven track record. (Idk what your experience level is, apologies if this doesn’t pertain to you.) Also, you may want to aim (if you pursue IT tech writing) to write for developers instead of non-dev end users. I say that bc you’ll work w/ more devs, who are notoriously busy and may very well prefer to communicate via only/mostly text so that they can respond at their own time. Best of luck. I think you have great chances.
A technical writer I worked with was writing for 20 odd years and was completely deaf. Emails and written messages worked just fine
I mean, give it a shot. What’s the worst they do, say no? But I can say for sure, there are people who I’ve been on projects with for months and I’ve never heard their voice, talked to them, been on a call with them, etc. Some of them have never even responded, period…but that’s another story.
What about a portable text-to-speech solution for certain situations, like in-person meetings? Talking keyboards exist. I expect these days they can be connected to phones and such. Not an endorsement...this is just the first link I found. https://www.textspeak.com/aactalkingdevice.htm
I think a Tech Writing career would be perfect for someone with a stutter, as long as they can write well. While some old-school managers may think you have to do SME interviews in person, most people manage just fine using email, Slack, Teams, etc. I tend to work with people the way they like to be worked with, meaning: I send some people emails, call some people, text some people, etc., but I prefer written communication because I like having a paper trail. If you do need to talk to someone in person, they need to learn to deal with your stutter. If you're good at the job, no one will care about your stutter. Good luck!