(archive Interview from 2019)

Siobhan, tell me a bit about what it is that you do

I’m a ‘Technical Writer’ by title but I don’t do a lot of what technology writers do, I don’t do manuals or software guides or things like that.

I do more of writing content around technology sectors. Im kind of working in a hybrid marketing and operations role. I spend a lot of time with Engineers to understand what it is they’re going and then my job is to basically take really complicated technology and break it down so that it is accessible to people who have a technical background and in a way feel they don’t want to be talked down to, but also people who maybe don’t have that background.

It can be a challenge when thinking about the audiences. I write a lot of white papers, blogs twice a week, case studies, interviews of scientists and engineers, things like that.

Oh wow, that’s quite a lot of variety!

Yeah it is, I really love the variety in my work. I also do some technical writing, some internal documentation, and that’s a nice balance too.

I love my job.

What led you to being a Technical Writer, what path did you take?

Not a straight forward one, Siobhan says with a laugh.

I was always adept at technology and the science and math. I was on the math team and Chemistry Olympiad at school, but never felt like I was particularly good at them.

I was way better at English and writing; those were my strengths. I’ve always been naturally competitive and I wanted to be good at Math and Science.

I think it was by chance that I’d ended up with an engineering focus in my writing which was maybe influenced by my University of choice.

After University I then went on to teach for 5 years, I taught lower grades at elementary school

Was that challenging?

It was so hard, oh my gosh, teaching for me was the hardest job, I am glad that I’m not doing it right now.

It was exhausting, very rewarding in some ways. But immensely challenging as someone who wants to really make a difference. I’m someone who likes to make change happen, I like to do things, develop a plan and implement that plan.

Public education in the states is very much a Government regulated process, its very time consuming and arguably behind in various ways, technology being one of them.

It could be really frustrating at times and that pushed me to start freelance writing, writing about technology jobs initially. I did freelance writing on the side for almost 10 years whilst I was building up my portfolio and eventually landed a job doing it full time.

What encouraged you to go down the freelance route? For me it was really about what was convenient. I was working, and I was hesitant to invest full time in a writing career – we’ve all heard those stories about writers and artists not managing it. So, I was very nervous to take that leap. Im quite a practical person in a lot of ways, I wanted to make sure that I had a full-time job with consistent income, the benefits and a regular schedule. 

Freelance gave me the opportunity to build on those skills and gain a little extra income without sacrificing the stability that came from full time employment.

Technical writing is such a hard field to get into, even people who have degrees and are very focused on that typically have to do 2 or 3 unpaid internships to land a job – or at least that’s the research I’d found at the time when I’d looked into it all.

Developing a portfolio in my free time seemed like a more strategic approach to take.

Was there anything in particular that drew you to technical writing over another kind of writing?

It paid a little more, Siobhan says laughing.

One of the things that I think I do really well as a writer, and what I pride myself in, is bridging the gap. Taking complex topics and breaking them down into understandable pieces – I mean I was a teacher.

I’m grateful that I was a teacher first because what I learned there has really helped me in my writing.

For you, what would you say is your long-term career goal?

That’s a good question, I wish I knew the answer.

When I think back to where I thought I’d be 5 years ago, and I’m not there, I’m in a completely different field.

I have this humble understanding of my future that I just don’t know what I could be doing.

My children are my world, its important to me that I can be there for them growing up and that I’m not at the office all the time. I think that flexibility is so undervalued in the workplace. Its something I’m really appreciative for – I really love what I do and will keep writing forever as long as I continue to have that balance of flexibility.

Are there any particular things that you’re very proud of yourself for achieving?

Hmmm. Since around the time I joined my current company there’s been a lot of focus on Security and Information Security.

I don’t have that background – I’m pretty sure I’ve clicked on a phishing link at somepoint in my past – but I feel really proud of how much I’ve learned around that field and how quickly I became kind of an influencer in the technology media.

I was listed on one ‘Top 30 Women in Cyber Security’ list, it was so shocking. 2 years ago, im like ‘Cyber Security, does it have a space in it, is it one word, not sure’ and here I am today.

I’m very proud of the writing I’ve done, some of it has been shared so many times, its landed me some contract work in the past.

Are there any particular challenges that you’ve faced in the tech workplace?

I’ve had lots of challenges, and not just limited to tech jobs.

In recent technology work I’ve found when it comes to flexibility, maternity leave, paternity care, things that are more family centric, seem to be associated with ‘women issues’ when actually they’re family issues – people issues. It’s an area where I see the most weakness in places I’ve worked so far.

I think things are changing, there’s a general acknowledgement across the industry right now that those things are important, or at least are starting to, and that they’re missing out on quality candidates when you set these arbitrary limitations on what a  work environment is supposed to be, that’s my belief.

I find that even though there are more women entering into technology and there is this changing mindset, it’s definitely a younger mindset. A lot of the leadership is still frankly older white men, as women move up and minorities and diverse groups move up and have more say in the direction companies take then I imagine it will change more and probably more rapidly too. But until that happens I think we’ll continue to see some stagnation.

What do you love the most about working in the tech sector?

My mantra when it comes to my writing is that technology changes every day – there’s a lot behind those 4 little words. There’s always something new or new ways to do something, it’s give and take on analysis and shared opinions.

There’s also this data piece, people in technology tend to be very focussed on the statistical validity of what they’re doing and saying. There’s definitely a mathematical basis to a lot of the decisions that are being made, but at the same time so much gut opinion and gut feeling.

As a writer, and someone who reads a lot of Charles Dickens in my spare time, I find that balance to be so fascinating – people are interesting and I think that people are at the heart of technology.

What do you think is the largest deterrent to women working in technology?

I think when you don’t see role models or necessarily know it’s something you could so, there’s something to that but I don’t think it’s the whole story.

I was a teacher, I was working with young kids as young as kindergarten and already at that age the boys are going to STEM club and the girls are doing gymnastics and playing in their princess costumes. There was already this gender differentiation in terms of what you’re meant to wear or who you’re meant to like, who you’re supposed to talk to – and at such a young age.

I think it really comes down to education, from parents, from schools and the wider education sector to help these children understand that it doesn’t matter what gender you are, learn about and pursue the things that interest you.

As much as we can make changes to what the business world looks like, it comes down to the kids. Middle school girls are 70% less likely to pursue a STEM extra-curricular activity than they are the arts, and I think that’s really telling.

I was an English major, how to apply that writing to technology was something that never came up in my studies or fit into the conversation, I was either going to be an English professor or an English teacher. It was only my interest that led me to that place.

There is also still a lack of acceptance of diversity in the field.

I had an interview before at a bank for a Technical Writer job, one interview was almost absurd. It was with the CTO, toward the end of the interview process. He said to me ‘so did you just like Google this? Like how did you learn it’ and I started talking about my research and the interviews and how I learn things pretty quickly but also that I have a lot of expertise in these subject matters and he was just like ‘yeah, yeah, um, women can’t do computers, so I don’t know where you got all this information but this isn’t you’. I did not know what to say or how to respond.

But then it was really interesting because he offered me the job which was peculiar – I turned it down. I think I’d said something to the effect of ‘I’m not going to work for someone who think I plagiarise things, I need trust’.

As disappointing as it is, those mentalities still exist in a lot of leadership roles out there and its going to continue till these people retire. Things will change but it takes time.

Do you have any dislikes about working in the technology sector?

Part of Its strength is also its weakness.

There’s a lot ‘shiny new object syndrome’ and a lot of buzzwords, everyday there’s a new thing. For me sometimes I feel like I’m lacking investment in the sense that I don’t know where to invest my energy. It can be tiring at times keeping up with the new technologies and figuring out how it’s all connected, it can be very nebulous.

Is there anything that you think employers could be doing more of to encourage more women to want to work for them?

Thinking about things outside of women’s issues. If we can have policies that are more just about people and equality for people and less about ‘she’s a woman so she should be able to wear this or that’. When we take a step back and look at people issues and family issues, that’s going to be a lot more meaningful to organisations.

Offer more remote working and flexibility, offer more support for growing families – that’s really huge!

My husband is a Scientist and he struggled with having time off when we had children, there was no time to take, he ended up taking unpaid leave for a little while which had its own problems.

I was raising twins, often on my own, and I would have loved to have been able to have had more support from my husband, but he didn’t have that support by way of flexibility available to him from his employer – and we’re not alone in that situation.

It’s a step that any company, non-profit, anyone who employs anyone can take that would make the world a better place.

Do you have any tips for people out there who may be going through that job hunting process right now?

Be confident. I think women tend to underestimate themselves, either how much money that should make or what skills they should have or how valuable they are.

Apply for the job that’s interesting to you, even if you’re not a perfect match to the person specification. All of the jobs that I’ve had are jobs that I’d convinced myself I’d never be good enough to do.

Also networking – especially with other women. Women in tech is developing its own culture and there’s a lot going on, and I think women are on the lookout for each other a little bit right now in the industry.

There are all these groups out there whose sole purpose is supporting purpose is supporting people, whether its solving problems, finding jobs.

Reach out and maybe find a mentor or someone just to support you a little bit, male or female, just who can be there to support your learning a little.

Are you quite active in the online tech community?

Yeah, I do quite a bit on Twitter where I post links to my writing and activism and everything.

I also work with IDG Technology doing weekly chats and take part in those which has had a lot of positive feedback. I wasn’t initially sure that anything I was saying would have any value to the community.

Having that voice has been instrumental to my career and I’m so grateful to IDG for that opportunity.