How Nathan Chose an AI-Powered Technical Writing Career Earning $100k/Year

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In this episode of AI Paycheck, host Alex Carter sits down with Nathan Bennett, an AI-powered technical writer who has cracked the code to building a thriving, high-income career. Nathan shares his journey from a mechanical engineering background to becoming a sought-after technical writer, leveraging his knack for translating complex ideas. He reveals how he initially struggled with high client demands and pulling all-nighters, before discovering AI writing tools like ChatGPT in 2022, which dramatically cut his work time by 60%.

Dive deep into Nathan’s AI-powered workflow, covering his use of tools like ChatGPT for research and generating outlines, Jasper for drafting, and Grammarly/Hemingway App for polishing. Learn about his efficiency-boosting "Pro Tip" of creating a Prompt Library for recurring tasks and discover lesser-known tools he uses, such as Otter.ai for meeting transcription, Frase.io for SEO analysis, and DALL-E for generating visuals like flowcharts.

Nathan pulls back the curtain on his client acquisition strategies, including creating engaging "case study carousels" on LinkedIn and using video proposals on Upwork to make a powerful first impression. He explains his successful project-based pricing model, quoting $3,000–$5,000 for a 30-page manual, and how AI enables him to deliver faster, maintaining a high effective hourly rate. Plus, hear about his unique "AI Audits" service where he shows clients how to automate doc updates.

But it's not without its challenges. Nathan shares a cautionary tale about AI "hallucinations" and reveals his robust validation checklist to ensure accuracy, including using Factiverse.ai to cross-check technical claims, running docs through Copyscape to avoid plagiarism, and verifying code samples with developers. He also addresses how he handles clients who might view AI as "cheating" through transparency, explaining AI as a "sous-chef" assisting human expertise.

Discover Nathan’s scaling playbook for earning six figures while working just 25–30 hours a week. He breaks down his three key steps: productizing services with templated offerings like "API Doc in a Week," outsourcing grunt work like formatting and invoices to virtual assistants, and leveraging passive income by selling AI prompt packs. Learn about his time management techniques like time-blocking to maintain work-life balance and avoid burnout.

Finally, Nathan offers insightful predictions on the future of AI in technical writing—forecasting hyper-personalization, voice-to-doc tools, and enhanced AI collaboration. He leaves listeners with actionable advice for getting started: start today, use free tools first, network within communities like the Write the Docs Slack group, and specialize in a niche to command premium rates.

Nathan's powerful concluding thought? "AI won’t replace writers—it’ll replace writers who don’t use AI."

Don't miss this masterclass on leveraging artificial intelligence to build a thriving, high-income technical writing career! Grab Nathan's free AI prompt pack mentioned in the show notes!