TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Education for tech writers From:Karen Field <kfield -at- STELLCOM -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 16 Mar 2000 14:07:05 -0800
Greetings, fellow techwhirlers.
I've been working as a tech writer/editor for nearly four years now, and my
career seems to be going well. In fact, it's going so well that I've been
slow to finish my TW certificate at the local university. Now I'm reluctant
to finish it because I've found my experience to be infinitely more valuable
than what I'm learning in class. At this stage in life and career (I'm 32),
how I spend my free time is monumentally important to me. In other words,
I'm not interested in "paying dues" in a class unless it is directly
applicable to my goals and/or offers info I don't yet know.
Anyway, I've researched online learning and correspondence programs that
seem to offer more immediately relevent courses. My question is this: If I
pursue a certificate or some time of education from an alternate type of
institution (such as online learning), will that look "hokey" on my resume,
vs. such credentials from a "real" university? Keep in mind that my LT goals
involve self-employment.
Outstanding idea! I think mentoring can only help everyone, newbies and
veterans alike. Newbies gain the benefit of another's experience, support
and networking contacts. Veterans gain fresh ideas, new networking contacts,
and a new take on managing people.
I would love to have some opportunities to do so. Eric, perhaps this could
be a new feature on the Whirlers site, allowing those of us who would like
to mentor an opportunity to match up with new whirlers who'd like to be
mentored?
Connie Giordano
-----Original Message-----
From: kimber_miller -at- acs-inc -dot- com
[snip]
All this has me thinking that ours is a profession requiring
mentoring--people
up the ladder of experience reaching back to assist new professionals in
finding
and climbing the same ladder of professionalism.
Yet, ours is also a profession that is production-driven. Deadlines and
time-to-market are king. How can mentoring possibly fit into this
professional
environment? How can it NOT?
[snip]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sponsored by Weisner Associates Inc., Online Information Services
Training & consulting for RoboHELP, Dreamweaver, HTML, and HTML-Based Help.
More info at http://www.weisner.com/train/ or mailto:training -at- weisner -dot- com -dot-
Your web site in 32 languages? Maybe not now, but sooner than you think.
Contact ForeignExchange for the FREE paper, "3 steps to successful
translation management" (http://www.fxtrans.com/3steps.html?tw).
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: kfield -at- STELLCOM -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-21175F -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
