For the past 5 years, I've been working as a full-stack developer, both full-time and freelance. I learned a lot through it and have become better with time.

A year ago I started technical writing. I wrote articles, tutorials, and documentation for my own blog as well as other websites, agencies, and clients. It became a hobby of mine that I really enjoyed.

Today, I start my new job as a Technical Writer at Medusa. This decision wasn't an easy one and it took me a while to finally make the transition.

In this article, I share with you how I first started technical writing, and why am I transitioning into full-time technical writing.

How it Started

I've always loved writing in general. For a long time, I debated whether I should create a blog or not. Although I have my fair share of experience as a developer, I still considered myself an average developer. So, I didn't think anyone would be interested to read my content or that I had anything helpful to share.

I finally decided to create my own blog in December 2020. It wasn't because I suddenly gained the motivation or courage. It was mostly a "even if I fail and no one reads my content, what could go wrong?" kind of decision. I tried a different kind of content. Some got a lot of attention from other developers, others not so much. However, the best part about it all was receiving feedback, even from one person, saying that this article or tutorial helped them understand or learn something better.

Then, at the end of March 2021, I learned that you can actually get paid to write for other websites! It may seem like common knowledge to a lot of people, but to me it was news. I didn't know whether my content was good enough or not, but I decided to apply anyway. I applied to a lot of websites and agencies, and that's what really kickstarted my technical writing journey.

In the past year, I was able to write for a lot of websites and agencies like SitePoint, Draft.dev, LogRocket, and more. I was also able to work with my own clients, which was how I started my journey with Medusa.

Even though I really loved technical writing, it took a lot of thinking and consideration to finally embark on this journey and become a full-time technical writer.

Why I Made the Transition

Learn More

As I mentioned earlier I learned a lot from being a developer. However, when you are a developer a lot of time, especially if you work for a company that creates websites for other companies rather than having its own product, you end up prioritizing delivering features rather than the quality of the code or architecture. It becomes a "let's just get this over with" sort of mentality.

When I started technical writing, however, I became more curious. I started thinking "ok, but how does this thing work?" I also began diving more deeply into topics rather than learning surface-level details.

Even if you're not interested in writing, I recommend that you take the time to write about things as you learn them. It'll help you truly understand what you're learning instead of just applying.

Help Beginners

My main focus when writing is making sure that my content is easily understandable by beginners. Whether it's beginners to programming in general or to a certain tool, framework, or programming language.

I like to simplify my content, whether in the words I use or the approach I take. The first tutorial or guide a beginner finds while learning something can be a make-it or break-it sort of thing. If it's too complicated or doesn't give the reader a real understanding of what they're doing, it's a waste of their time.

Closer to the Community

I'm an introverted person. I've always struggled with communicating with people in general. This has also stopped me from becoming closer to the tech community in the past years.

Ever since I started sharing my content across platforms, it helped me meet new people, learn from people's feedback, and have more love and support for the community. And going back to the previous point, it made me want to make more (hopefully helpful) content for those in the community who do not necessarily have access to paid resources.

Build the Foundation

This is specific to my work at Medusa. As Medusa is a fairly new platform, we are still lacking in terms of technical content and documentation. We are going to be building the documentation from the ground up to ensure that it's easy to understand by anyone who wishes to use and learn about the platform.

As I believe that Medusa will become more and more successful in the upcoming years, I'm excited to be part of the team working on the foundation of the documentation of a platform that will hopefully grow with time.

Also, as an open-source platform that appreciates and works closely with its community, Medusa's values align well with why I love writing and want to keep doing it.

Conclusion

This is a personal post that maybe not many will read or be interested in. But this is a very important one for me. After a long time of struggling to find my footing in my career, I've finally reached a point where I understand what I want and have the opportunity to get there.

If you're reading this and you're still confused about what direction you want to go in, give yourself some time and experiment with different projects. As cheesy as it sounds, with hard work and dedication you'll get there sooner or later.