The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Technical Support Specialist
1-3 yearsSkills to master
- Deep product knowledge, troubleshooting skills, explaining complex issues to non-technical users, patience under pressure.
You're ready to move on when
- You're the 'go-to' person for explaining tricky features to colleagues or customers.
- You enjoy creating internal knowledge base articles or quick guides.
- You often find yourself teaching users how to solve their own problems, rather than just solving them.
- 2
Junior Content Creator / Documentation Specialist
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Clear technical writing, content organisation, understanding user needs, proficiency with content authoring tools.
You're ready to move on when
- You love taking dense technical info and making it easy to understand.
- You're meticulous about accuracy and detail in written materials.
- You've used tools like Confluence, Zendesk Guide, or similar to create user-facing documentation.
- 3
Sales Engineer / Pre-Sales Consultant
1-3 yearsSkills to master
- Product demonstration, understanding customer pain points, tailoring explanations to audience needs, public speaking.
You're ready to move on when
- You enjoy giving product demos and explaining technical benefits to potential customers.
- You're good at answering tough questions on the fly during presentations.
- You can simplify complex technical architectures for a business audience.