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Subject:RE: Can this career be saved? From:"Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com> To:"'salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com'" <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>, "'techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 9 Jun 2011 20:12:59 +0000
Good article, but even they admit you still need to work for a living.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Chris Morton
Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2011 3:07 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Can this career be saved?
On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 9:11 AM, Becca <becca_price -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> I was a tech writer for 25 years, doing mostly independent contracts - my
> last few full-time jobs ended, however, when the company I was working for
> went out of business.
>
> Due to family reasons, I haven't worked in the field since 2003. I've had a
> few part-time jobs, but mostly I've been a stay at home mom with two special
> needs children. Now the kids are grown and driving themselves and in
> college. I really miss technical writing, and would like to get back into
> the business.
>
> Our local community college has a locally-well-thought-of program where I
> could get a technical writing certificate in 3 terms. I'd learn programs
> like InDesign, QuarkXpress, and FrameMaker, in addition to getting caught up
> with current best practices in the field - I know things have changed
> radically since I had to leave writing.
>
> My question is: Does this certificate sound worth while? it certainly is
> more pragmatic than getting a Masters in Technical Writing from a local
> university (that program sounds more theoretical than practical). Would any
> company look twice at someone with my history? My freelance days included
> contracts from companies such as Ford, Apple, and EDS. I've kept contact
> with a few people who could still give me referrals.
>
> -becca
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