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Subject:Re: Skills and Know-how From:TechComm Dood <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 3 Dec 2004 17:10:43 -0500
Well, where exactly are you going to school, and why
communication/tech writing? We showed you ours, now you show us yours.
;-)
"Entry-level" can be anything, really. My first job was "entry level
help author", which I landed after applying for a senior level
technical writer position with a cover letter that took the approach
of "why settle for a senior TW when you could have *ME*". (But it
wasn't that arrogant.) I was expected to be a quick study and have
writing skills... that was it!
Expect to learn skills and applications on the job. Poking around in
them now can't hurt, but most hiring managers will know that without
real-world experience, knowledge in many of the tools of our trade
doesn't really mean much other than you're accustomed to the UI.
Can you give us an idea of what types of courses you have taken and
what you're looking to do as a technical writer?
On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 13:29:28 -0800 (PST), A.H. <isaac840 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the many reponses to T.W. Background. For
> the last question, Does the future of T.W. look
> bright, some responded 'if you're good and have a
> solid resume'.
>
> What kinds of programs and knowledge are standard
> for entry-level positions? I attend an engineering
> school and study tech. comm. as a major., but I'm not
> studying to be an engineer. Many of those who reponded
> had engineering backgrounds. Am I at a disadvantage? I
> can pick up new concepts and programs fairly quiclkly,
> but there is a lot that I still don't know. Any
> thoughts?
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