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Subject:Re: Tech Comm Survey From:Susan W. Gallagher <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 12 Oct 2004 18:08:02 -0400
>
> From: "Tricia Little" <tlittle08 -at- hotmail -dot- com>
>
> 1. How long have you been a technical communicator?
it'll be 22 years in March
> 2. Have you noticed changes in software programs that you use? Explain briefly.
WYSIWYG is the biggest change in software. Wang Word
Processing was powerful, but the terminal still only displayed
fixed-spaced characters. Coal-burning Wordstar on my
personal CPM box looked a lot like raw HTML.
Printing is much improved. <g> Back when I started, if you
wanted to print in italics, you had to run into the computer
room and change the daisy wheel. Then came the high-density
dot matrix that would print 2 fonts per page (italic being
a separate font)! Wow! <g> We thought we were hot stuff then!
Being able to integrate graphics and text is cool. Used to
be that drawing was done with form-a-line tape and a sticky
sheet of half-tone dots. The finished product was waxed or
pasted onto the printout in the blak space that you provided
for by hitting return a couple of dozen times.
> 3. Have you noticed a change in salary? Explain briefly.
I started out at $6.45 an hour. Before the dot.bomb, I had
a $100k year. The performance bonuses and stock payouts have
dried up, but the salary is still up there.
> 4. Do the tasks that you complete now vary from what you did when you began working in this field? Explain briefly.
Not really. You play with software, figure out what it
does, and write about it.
> 5. How many times have you changed jobs or relocated?
Eight real jobs, several years of contracting. Relocated for
myself, not for any specific job, once.
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