# Technical Writing as a Career and form of Open Source Contribution

Technical writing is one of the ways people can work in tech. And it is also an entry point to working in tech. Open source projects can not exist without technical writers, which is why many open-source projects and communities look for good technical writers.

OSCA Awka and OSCA Ile-Ife had a 2-day online event to help technical writers get their games up, and land paid jobs as technical writers. It was also structured in such a way that absolute beginners could also be exposed to how to get started and become technical writers.

## How did the event go?

The event went smoothly for the two days and was held on google meet. We had two speakers, each speaking on different days. The talks centered on:

- How to get started as a technical writer.
- How to land a paying job as a technical writer.
- How to improve as a writer.
- How to support open-source projects.   

We also had fun while learning; we played some games and also did giveaways to the winners.

### Day 1 

[Shedrack Akintayo](https://twitter.com/coder_blvck) talked about how beginners can breakthrough through technical writing and shared resources and habits that will help them succeed. In addition, he shared tools that make the job of a technical writer easier.

![osca awka.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1655913927650/uoVCPwfsE.png align="left")

### Day 2.

As a technical writer contributing to open source will supercharge your career growth, so said [Idris Olubisi](https://twitter.com/olanetsoft), the speaker for the second day. He shared different open source communities beginners can join, and how to navigate new communities they find themselves in. He also mentioned that while contributing to open source, quality counts more than quantity.

![osca awka5.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1655916302167/ZOo-e7slr.png align="left")

 > We also have a recording of the event 😉

## Links to speaker slides

- Slides for the first day can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oMSLwszQkPSs2Ij3QCXl-E9Pr4N_yl-L/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103936574357939326147&rtpof=true&sd=true). 

- Slides for the second day can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1glB0eyP4D6MFg_6MD27vhwfz3Xgx517X/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103936574357939326147&rtpof=true&sd=true).

- Also, a [recording](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mvP3plvULZxMfgdXZWGwVFUTiAjbkKOD/view?usp=sharing) of the talk for day 1.

## Attendees feedback(s)

As expected, there was a lot of feedback from the attendees because the two speakers were amazing and answered all their questions. Below are some of the feedback we received on Twitter.

%[https://twitter.com/onyiifortech/status/1527968802012553216?s=20&t=hZhwytk8gt1J55-XuOnJ-g]
%[https://twitter.com/HopeOgidan/status/1527652772220481537?s=20&t=hZhwytk8gt1J55-XuOnJ-g]
%[https://twitter.com/codeboss_/status/1527610490238775297?s=20&t=hZhwytk8gt1J55-XuOnJ-g]
%[https://twitter.com/MrPrewsh/status/1527626238742904833?s=20&t=hZhwytk8gt1J55-XuOnJ-g]
%[https://twitter.com/KehindeOwowolu/status/1528118262898339841?s=20&t=hZhwytk8gt1J55-XuOnJ-g]


## Appreciation

Special thanks to the speakers Shedrack and Idris for their time and effort to make sure the attendees learned a lot and gained value. I also want to thank members of OSCA Awka and OSCA Ile-Ife for attending the event. Shoutout to all who attended the event from different parts of Africa.

Special shout out to the core team of OSCA Awka and OSCA Ile-Ife for putting the event together.

## Event photos

![osca awka 4.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1655913625078/-LeEji2fr.png align="left")
![osca awka 5.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1655913650044/9bxz0pc-j.png align="left")

![osca awka7.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1655916310334/Vry1wo_Lg.png align="left")

## Our social

Follow us on Twitter @[oscafrica](https://twitter.com/oscafrica) @[oscaawka](https://twitter.com/oscaawka) @[oscaileife](https://twitter.com/oscaileife) to get more updates on our future meetups. Also, you can join our Discord chat [here](https://t.co/hgalTjwnG9) to connect to all Open Source Community Africa members. To join OSCA Awka or OSCA Ile-Ife, fill out this [form](https://forms.gle/BdYdd3gyd1TJsyuq7).

## Conclusion

Contributing to open source is very important as it can help you gain valuable experience. You also get to work with people outside your community and make friends beyond the project.
As a technical writer, there are many opportunities that you can leverage, and there are many ways you can give back to the community.

Thank you for reading to this point.

![](https://media.giphy.com/media/g9582DNuQppxC/giphy-downsized-large.gif)