Technical communicator to web content manager
A technical communicator already meets 45% of what the web content manager role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.2/ 100
1 How much of what a web content manager is expected to do is already part of a technical communicator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the web content manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A web content manager role treats 15 of its required skills as things a technical communicator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply tools for content development
- compile content
- conduct content quality assurance
- content development processes
- integrate content into output media
- interpret technical texts
What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A web content manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a technical communicator background worth leading with.
- already held utilise content types working with computers
- already held apply tools for content development working with computers
- already held publishing strategy arts and humanities
- already held compile content information skills
- already held conduct content quality assurance working with computers
- already held manage content metadata information skills
All 23 carried skills, including the 15 the web content manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn information structure required
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn web based collaborative platforms required
- still to learn web programming required
- still to learn authoring software required
- optional, not held AJAX optional
- optional, not held JavaScript optional
- optional, not held PHP optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held augmented reality optional
- still to learn digital content creation required
- still to learn manage online content required
- still to learn translate requirement concepts into content required
- still to learn conduct search engine optimisation required
- still to learn develop digital content required
- optional, not held perform online data analysis optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- still to learn ensure compliance with company regulations required
- still to learn ensure compliance with legal requirements required
- still to learn identify customer requirements required
- still to learn identify legal requirements required
- optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
- still to learn create content title required
- optional, not held design digital call to action optional
- optional, not held perform copywriting optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- still to learn legal requirements of ICT products required
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a web content manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 digital content creation practise this
- 02 information structure study this
- 03 keywords in digital content study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held apply tools for content development skill
- already held compile content skill
- already held conduct content quality assurance skill
- already held content development processes knowledge
- already held integrate content into output media skill
- already held interpret technical texts skill
- already held manage content metadata skill
- already held provide multimedia content skill
- already held provide written content skill
- already held publishing strategy knowledge
- already held style sheet languages knowledge
- already held translate requirements into visual design skill
- already held use content management system software skill
- already held use markup languages skill
- already held utilise content types skill
- already held CSS knowledge
- already held JSSS knowledge
- already held LESS knowledge
- already held Sass knowledge
- already held cognitive psychology knowledge
- already held manage content development projects skill
- already held use presentation software skill
- already held use word processing software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held interactive media optional
- optional, not held provide guidelines for content development optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design digital call to action optional
- optional, not held AJAX optional
- optional, not held JavaScript optional
- optional, not held PHP optional
- optional, not held provide guidelines for content development optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held augmented reality optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
- optional, not held interactive media optional
- optional, not held perform copywriting optional
- optional, not held perform online data analysis optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
23 held skills the web content manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT help platforms knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
- not needed by the target role application usability knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply ICT terminology skill
- not needed by the target role create script for artistic production skill
- not needed by the target role design graphics skill
- not needed by the target role develop ICT safety information skill
- not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role documentation types knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather technical information skill
- not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
- not needed by the target role identify technological needs skill
- not needed by the target role integrate and re-elaborate digital content skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role manage information sources skill
- not needed by the target role manage localisation skill
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role product usage risks analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide online help skill
- not needed by the target role provide technical documentation skill
- not needed by the target role structure information skill
- not needed by the target role visual presentation techniques knowledge
13 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn information structure required
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn web based collaborative platforms required
- still to learn web programming required
- still to learn authoring software required
- still to learn legal requirements of ICT products required
- optional, not held AJAX optional
- optional, not held JavaScript optional
- optional, not held PHP optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held augmented reality optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held interactive media optional
Other moves recorded from technical communicator
Common questions about this move
Can a technical communicator become a web content manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A technical communicator already covers 45% of what a web content manager is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 15 of which the web content manager role treats as required.
What skills does a technical communicator need to become a web content manager?
17 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is digital content creation.
How hard is the move from technical communicator to web content manager?
Its learning distance is 64.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.