RE: Re: Does grant writing fall under technical writing?

["Hyder, Lisa" <Lisa_Hyder -at- lcca -dot- com>]

Diane Brennan <dalaine00 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> Great minds think alike! I've been talking to grant writers in my 
> area to find out about that field because I'm also thinking about
> making a switch. One of them works for a non-profit and her
> title is actually fundraiser. She has an English degree, like I do,
> so that was encouraging. But like technical writing, there is a
> networking aspect to the job so you need to get connected to
> that network in your area. I'm still researching that part of it.

About six years ago, I was laid off and decided to take the opportunity
to change careers. I was just burned out on writing software doc. I had
no idea what I could do other than write, so I settled on grant writing.
I soon discovered that it's very hard to find an organization that will
actually pay you to write grants. :-)

I had lots of spare time, so I volunteered as a grant writer with a
couple of local non-profits, one of which soon asked me to join its
board. In searching for a grant writing job, I found another non-profit
that needed an unpaid intern to edit their publications, including grant
proposals, so I interviewed with them and got that position. Networking
is definitely important, and I made a number of contacts in the
non-profit world this way.

After about a year of this, I interviewed for an entry-level job in the
corporate advancement department of a university. The rest of the staff
and I got along famously in the interview, and I had high hopes of
getting the job. Unfortunately, it would have paid about half of what I
made as a tech writer, although there seemed to be a possibility of
fairly rapid promotion. 

The next week, though, my husband was offered the option of a job
transfer out of state, which we decided to accept. (After a year of me
being unemployed, our finances were pretty bad.) When I called the
university to tell them to remove my name from consideration, the
department head said, "Oh, no! I thought we'd found our assistant." I
was pretty bummed about that one. Once we made the move, I didn't have
the financial luxury of starting my networking all over again in a new
area, so I went back to tech writing. 

And Deborah Hemstreet wrote:
> A key question (I felt) was when she asked what attracted me to Grant 
> Writing. I told her, "Because I'd much rather do something that will 
> actually help people, than sit and check a software interface and
submit
> corrections to the GUI that will never be implemented because of
> deadline issues." She seemed to like that answer as well.

This is the big reason I wanted to change careers. I really feel the
need to do something that makes a difference in the world. I have
finally found a job as a tech writer that lets me experience that to
some degree, and I'm happy here. I still want to make the leap to grant
writing one day, but it will probably be my post-retirement career. :-)

Lisa

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