Mapping your technical writing skill tree with Vladimir Izmalkov

The Not-Boring Tech Writer · Jul 9, 2026 · 54m · transcript

In this episode, I talk with Vladimir Izmalkov, an experienced technical communicator who has built and managed documentation teams and worked across open source and enterprise software in both English and Russian. We talk about his RPG-inspired "skill tree" for technical writers, how mapping your skills into different "classes" can help you make sense of a nonlinear career, and how to build a personal grading system that lets you evaluate yourself against a job's requirements and pitch your adjacent skills with confidence.

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Vladimir and I discuss his winding path into technical writing…