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Subject:RE: How to I get into this field? From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:"Techwr-l" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:03:17 -0400
John Posada responded to somebody:
> No fuss...doesn't it make sense that the more complex the subject, the
> more important subject matter knowledge is going to be?
I go into my current gig because I had previously done tech writing and
was (then-currently) in a technical field (telecomms), but if my current
employer had waited for a techwriter experienced in hardware-based
cryptography and related software development, they would have waited a
long time.
In other words, a demonstrated technical bent and a demonstrated
facility for explaining things in writing and illustration were much
more important than the specifics of their particular technical niche.
So far (ten years this August, several rounds of layoffs and three
corporate acquisitions later) they still seem to like me.
Granted, for otherwise similarly qualified applicants for a techwriting
position today, an edge in product-specific experience would be just
that... an edge.
Specific writing/publishing tools, you can pick up in a matter of days
or weeks, if you are generally experienced. Probably it would take
longer for someone just breaking into the field, but then it would be an
entry-level position, so slack would be cut, as they say.
The kind of position where specific experience is really necessary is
one where the writer must be immediately productive while writing
closely (rigidly) to a government or industry standard (military, FDA,
etc.)
On the third hand, the majority of places that would be hiring writers
for military or big-pharma jobs would likely not have single-writer
techpubs "groups". They'd have other bodies doing similar work who
could/would help a newbie to get up-to-speed regarding adherence to
standards. They'd have existing templates, and so on, because they've
done this before. Also, it would be understood that entry/junior level
writers would need some editorial oversight for a while.
- Kevin (just back from Canadian Thanksgiving weekend)
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