The Value of Essay Writing Skills For Your Technical Career

The ability to write a clear, focused essay is one of the most underrated skills that a candidate can bring into a role with a future employer. Most people have this misconception that writing essays is only something you do in school and that there is no need for the skills or “writing” in general once they reach employment. Many people out there believe that essay writing skills are very important for a person’s future career, especially a career in the technical field because they reinforce fundamental grammatical basics, show the candidate’s ability to articulate well thought out ideas and or objectives, and synthesize information for decision making.

According to Barbara Meyer, a professional essay writer at Exemplification Essays and SolidEssay.com, “one minor, yet important characteristic of essay writing is correct grammar and usage in the writing.” A great argument can fall apart with the presence of major spelling or grammatical errors, thus impeding clarity and comprehension. Retaining a general knowledge of grammatical rules and principles makes for clear, more elevated writing. Proper grammar gives the information and presenter more legitimacy in the eyes of others. If there’s an abundance of spelling mistakes, it takes the confidence out of the argument or presentation and others may see it as unprofessional. Having bad grammar practices, especially in the technology-driven age is something that might make that employee look lazy and/or unreliable. If you’re too lazy to use a simple spellcheck tool and proofread your work, how can your employer trust you with drafting deliverables like contracts, customer emails, or even reviewing important company data, especially in the technical field? One should never underestimate the power of grammar in their career.

There is a myriad of essay styles including research-based, argumentative, expository, or inquiry-type essays. “The key to writing effective, well thought is knowing and understanding the desired outcome and objective of the essay you are being asked to write about,” says Jessica Miller, head of the essay writing department at BeeStudent.com. Are you taking a position on an issue, presenting multiple sides of an issue, or simply just explaining the facts of a singular concept? Besides the actual content of the essay, understanding the main concern of the prompt/essay style is one of the most important things to do. This same skill is critically applicable in a technical career. For example, you could be tasked by your executives to put together a presentation for a meeting about the company’s financials. Would you put in information about the company’s employee demographics? No, you would put in relevant information such as quarterly earnings, annual cash flow statements, and more relevant information because the presentation desired is concerning the financial state of the company. This is only one example of how understanding the objective is helpful in the workplace.

Now while there are other essay styles, the more common research essay is done in order to teach students to seek out information from various sources and bring them together in order to create an argument full of verified facts, data, or testimony of various sources. This type of essay also teaches people to break down these big complex ideas or tasks into smaller and more understandable components. This synthesis of information from multiple sources is a skill necessary in a multitude of careers. Many career paths involve some level of research from different sources in order to make decisions for their firm or department. Imagine now you’ve become the executive for a company and you’re being tasked to decide what kind of product to come up with next.  This task basically boils down to three smaller priorities: availability of company resources, profitability, and industry standard. You would need to get a consultation from other departments, look at past financial reports of products previously released, and also look at the patterns of products released within your given industry.  This is a real-world example of synthesizing information and data for various sources in order to make an argument and/ or pitch.

Overall, the uses and breadth of essay writing skills in a person’s future career are clear, abundant and necessary. These skills are some of the most utilized yet underrated in the professional world. Whether it’s drafting a business plan for potential investors or a simple email, the skills of essay writing are one of the most common and underrated tools for a person’s future career.