There are quite a few certificate programs offered in the United States by different universities for those who are just starting out and considering technical writing as a career. In my honest opinion, a certificate isn’t necessary to be successful in the field of technical communication, but it doesn’t hurt either, especially if your resume doesn’t include a list of previous technical writing jobs.

Brooklyn College is one educational institution you can certainly consider if you want to earn a certificate in Technical Writing before applying for a related job. It may not be one of the largest schools, but they do offer a dedicated program made up of continuing education courses.

To be eligible for the certificate, students must take 8 classes, each $355 (as of this writing) and each 8 weeks in length. The complete program costs $2840.

Here is the full curriculum for technical writing classes at Brooklyn College:

TW100: Grammar, Usage, Mechanics for Technical Writers

TW101: Fundamentals of Technical Writing

TW102: Graphics for Technical Writers

TW103: User Guides and FrameMaker

TW104: Technical Documentation with XHTML and CSS

TW105: Online Helps and RoboHELP

TW106: Technical Reports and Proposals Investigated

TWI07: Indexing

TW108: Technical Edition

TW109 User Guides with Microsoft Word

TW110: Starting a Technical Writing Career

TW113: Business Communications

TW999: Special Topics in Technical Communication

This is a very hands-on hands-on program that teaches real life skills that a technical writer can start applying right away. Their FrameMaker class is one such deal you can take advantage of, as many technical writing teams use FrameMaker to generate single-source documents.

Another thing I like about the Brooklyn College program is the way they present their alumni’s portfolios. That way you can see what the program really does and how various students have benefited from studying at BC. I think it’s actually a brilliant idea that all other certification programs should emulate, as it builds trust from potential applicants.

Visit the BC Certification Program website, which also offers good tutorials and comprehensive course descriptions. Search Google for “Brooklyn University Technical Writing Certificate Program.”