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Subject:RE: gearing up to be a tech writer From:Jonathan Kajeckas <jgkaje -at- wm -dot- edu> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 30 Apr 2001 17:08:02 -0400
Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my request for advice on how
to prepare to be a tech writer, ideally able to work from home as a
contractor. I thought I'd summarize for the list the advice I received.
I received several responses addressing:
1) technical training, specifically MCSE certification and other
technologies that employers might find attractive, such as Linux. A few
respondents openly questioned the value of an MCSE unless I want to do
system administration or write specifically about Windows 2000. A few
reported pockets of employer interest in Linux, and one writer from Seattle
reported great interest in XML.
2) tools for technical writing, such as Framemaker, TeX, and Word (in the
context of the MOUS Word Expert exam). Though one writer from Colorado says
she never sees a request for it and a few others wrote that clients often
want Word, I received several messages urging me to purchase Framemaker
while I qualify for an academic staff discount. TeX is apparently not used
outside academia; I asked about it because I had seen it's structured
document model favorably compared to Framemaker. Technical writers are
apparently assumed to be experts in Word, and no one has seen the MOUS exam
requested or touted. I received mixed but generally favorable reviews of
Visio as a flowcharting tool, but more than one writer suggested that I
would be better off with a graphics package, Acrobat, and website
management tool. One writer reported many tech writing job offers based
solely on his knowledge of Robohelp. Scripting languages met with a yawn
(no doubt different for webmasters), VB was considered okay though not
compelling, and C++ more valuable.
3) job searching. I heard from a few writers that telecommuting is an
option usually granted to full-time staff after a time, and rarely given to
full-time contractors; on the other hand, one writer said she had
difficulty finding full-time work until she had some contractor experience.
Several people offered suggestions on how to look for contract work on the
web, including www.dice.com (perhaps the most prolific),
www.computerjobs.com (this one has Technical Writing as a specific
category), and www.scguild.com (membership-based, smaller and more select).
I found quite interesting an article by Donald Le Vie on flat fees vs.
hourly rates, available from the STC archives at
http://www.stc.org/intercom/PDFs/2000/200009-10_18-21.pdf. I received
generally good recommendations about placement services for technical
writers. Two that I have found are www.techwriters.com and www.techprose.com.
Finally, several people wrote about the experience of living and working in
Sonoma County, where many tech jobs are drying up and the cost of housing
is quite high, and the scenery is still beautiful. Many thanks for all your
comments.
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