For someone who comes from the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru, it is obvious that you will have a degree in engineering or computers. But this computer science engineer has wide array of interests, storytelling to photography. Meet Nikhil Mukunda. He is a technical writer based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
He graduated with a degree in computer science from Vishveswaraya Technological University. Apart from being a technical writer, he is a very passionate photographer. Although photography started as a hobby, it became a part-time business while he was in Bengaluru. It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know Nikhil. Here’s a piece of the conversation that we had. It is a crisp conversation totally on-point, just like one would expect from a technical writer.
What are your main responsibilities?
My main responsibility is to create content for software/hardware products. It involves understanding the product from an end-user point of view and creating instructional manuals/videos for it.
What is a typical day for you?
A typical day would include interaction with various subject matter experts, deciding how to structure information, creating user manuals and videos, and to think about how the end customer would perceive the product/user manuals.
How did you begin your career?
I accidentally stumbled into this career. I loved telling stories and had a blog. A recruiter from SAP noticed blogging on my resume and called me for an interview. My career then began as a technical writer trainee with SAP Labs. After 10 months of training, I became an SAP-certified technical writer.
What kind of problems do you most commonly deal with?
I have to think about the end-user when I write user manuals or create videos. Most times the information that comes to me as a writer is very technical. I need to cut through the jargon and decide what is important to the end-user before I create the user manual/video. This is the most common challenge.
How does your job/work affect your general lifestyle?
The work-life balance as a technical writer is quite good. In a given project, there are times where there is very little work and times where one cannot breathe. Overall, I would say it strikes a good balance.
What do you love the most about your job?
Understanding products and telling stories! As a technical writer, I am essentially an advocate of the software/hardware product. I advertise the capabilities of our products and showcase solutions to various problems.
What advice would you give to someone who wishes to follow this path?
If you have a passion for storytelling and you love tech, this is certainly one of the fields to be min. It is financially rewarding and at the same time, it opens up the possibility to learn a lot!
What exams did you take up/which college did you attend/anything extra you did?
Apart from a degree, I was always enthusiastic about tech including understanding mobile phone jargons, laptop components, and even the latest trends in software terminology. Improving my English by blogging really helped me land this job since as a technical writer, the ability to convey information clearly is very important.
Nidhi is a 20 year old ambivert who completed her schooling from Nath Valley School, Aurangabad. In 2018, she joined the MIT School of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Pune to pursue her BFA in Applied Arts and Visual Communication. She has a soft spot for reading, writing, and travel. Helping others find their true passion, is one of her interests. As a writer on Careerfox, she intends to interview professionals from diverse career backgrounds and blog about them. She believes that this would not only nurture her love for writing, but also would help youngsters make more informed career choices.