RE: tech communication career

["Kevin Amery" <kevin -dot- amery -at- sympatico -dot- ca>]

One thing to keep in mind is the industry is changing. Many technical
writers got into the field in the past without any formal education in the
field (i.e. their education didn't specifically say "technical writer" --
not wanting to suggest that they didn't have formal education of any kind of
course). But I think if you're trying to break into the field now, the
competition is tough enough that having a degree, diploma, or certificate
that says "technical communications" on it would be very helpful. If nothing
else, it'll help get past the HR / recruiter screening process. 

I liken it to programming. 20 years ago, many programmers were self taught,
or completed part of a degree then dropped out and spent their time coding.
That wasn't a liability at the time. Today, though, very few companies would
hire self-taught programmers unless they also had a significant amount of
real world experience. 

Until next time....
 
Kevin Amery


-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- amery=sympatico -dot- ca -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- amery=sympatico -dot- ca -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Roy Waggoner
Sent: June 28, 2006 1:39 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: tech communication career

Hello,

I am considering technical communication as a career.

I originally went to school to become a history teacher, and I am not sure
if teaching is for me. 
While I love journalism and am looking into that possibility as well,
newspaper pay, especially for reporters, is horribly low.

Technical writing, at least from my brief overview, seems like a very
interesting career, something that would fit my personality well.  And, it
appears to pay well.

But, I find it is better to talk with people actually in the career than to
just read the BLS data or the few websites I can find on technical
communication.

So, here are some questions:

1) What is a typical day like? 
2) What are hours like?  Do you find it takes time away from your family
beyond 50 hours a week or so?
3) What are some of the major pluses and minuses of the career?
4) What are typical entry level salaries and later salaries?  Are you happy
with your compensation?
5) What is most exciting to you about the job?
6) How vital is a degree in technical communication? 
Is competition for jobs intense?  I ask this since while I have some
technical knowledge, I am sure it is not enough to start a career in
technical communication right off the bat.  I would need a certificate at
the very least, plus an internship.
7) How is the career undergoing changes, and in what ways will that impact
the job market for technical writing?

Thanks for any insight!

Sincerely,

Roy Waggoner

 

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