How To Start Technical Writing & Blogging

Starting a data science blog on Medium was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. It up-skilled me in my career, opened many opportunities, and even made me some money.


Technical writing and blogging are not just valuable skills; they’re powerful tools that can elevate your career, especially for data scientists who often need to communicate complex ideas to various people with different technical skills.


That’s why in this article, I will explain what technical writing is, why you should do it, and how you can start your tech blog today!

https://hackmd.io/@alexaa34/Bk2_zDn6Wl

https://medium.com/@alexharris59600/how-to-start-technical-writing-blogging-88d5d0d94787

What Is Technical Writing/Blogging?

Put simply, technical writing is the process of writing tutorials or explainers on technical subjects like maths or coding. You basically educate and teach audiences complex and challenging topics in a digestible way.


For example, you can write about how to use Pandas in Python, how a machine-learning algorithm works or what ChatGPT is doing under the hood. The detail and complexity you go into is up to you, but the goal is to explain the topic as clearly as possible to a desired or specified target audience.


Technical writing and blogging are very similar but slightly different if we are being pedantic. The former is more of a formal full-time profession, whereas the latter is a more hobbyist, relaxed approach. However, at their heart, they are both trying to do the same thing of explaining technical topics.


That’s also not to say that you can’t earn a full-time income from tech blogs or online writing; many writers earn a living wage from their posts.


One of the best examples is The PyCoach, who consistently made over $5,000 per month in 2022. Obviously, you shouldn’t expect this and he is clearly an anomaly but it does show you that writing articles can be very lucrative if thats what you are after.


Why Have A Blog?

What’s the point of a blog? Well, there are so many reasons, both altruistic and selfish if we are being completely honest.


From the pure altruistic perspective:


  • You likely have specialist knowledge in a particular tech area that others may benefit from learning from you.
  • You can help people who want to get a job in your field by advising them on the best way to do so and on the resources they may need.

On the more selfish side:


  • Writing articles shows your interest and abilities in a field and will make you stand out to potential employers and recruiters.
  • It helps you learn new skills and topics that can advance your career. By writing posts, you are basically using the Feynman technique as you improve your understanding by teaching others.
  • You can earn some money on the side to supplement your full-time income and maybe even exceed it in some cases.


How To Start?

Choose Your Niche

When I started my blog, I was just about to start my first job as a data scientist. Naturally, I began writing articles on data, maths, statistics, and AI, all areas relevant to my role and were things I wanted to learn more about.


I was far from an expert and I hadn’t even started the job when I wrote my first article! However, I took the “learn in public” approach to documenting my learning as I progressed in my career.


Recently, I pivoted to writing more career advice articles, but that’s only after working in the field for nearly three years.


You can literally write about anything, but I recommend choosing a niche that interests you or that you have experience in. Then, decide whether you want to give advice or document your journey. Of course, you can do both, depending on your experience and what stage you are at in your career.


You can find my first article below. It’s not my best work, but we all start from somewhere!

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