I went to college to become a technical writer, which means that I create manuals, pamphlets, how-to guides, etc.
- A client will hire my company to create a specialized product for their industry to be used by their clients.
What I find most interesting about my profession is not only that I get to write for a living – which I absolutely love – I get to learn about a myriad of other professions in the process. The most recent project that I was assigned was to write user manuals for the HVAC industry. HVAC is an acronym which stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning – which is the first thing that I learned. This industry is surprisingly high-tech, with computerized systems from top to bottom. As with many areas, the HVAC industry has tons of terms and abbreviations that describe the components and processes. For example, BTU stands for British Thermal Unit, a measurement of the amount of heat required to raise or lower the temperature. Dry Bulb Temperature stands for the temperature as measured without the consideration of humidity. Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER, pertains to the output of a cooling device. The heat exchanger is a device through which heat is transferred to a cold or warm surface or area. Each of these terms can seem dry and boring, but some of the latest features in the HVAC industry are fascinating. For example, today’s programmable thermostats are designed to allow the user to automatically adjust the temperature of the home based on a series of preprogrammed settings. And Smart Thermostats are Wi-Fi enabled with the ability to be programmed remotely from a computer or smartphone! These are just a few of the many terms and advancements in a field that I previously thought of as quite boring.