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RE: Post about a creative writer who went into tech writing for a spell
Subject:RE: Post about a creative writer who went into tech writing for a spell From:"Al Geist" <al -at- geistarts -dot- com> To:"'Cardimon, Craig'" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>, "'Lin Sims'" <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com>, "'Gene Kim-Eng'" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> Date:Fri, 23 Oct 2015 16:08:37 -0400
I was working as an Engineering Technical for a small government contractor and was offered to rewrite the maintenance procedures I just verified/updated for a small TACAN (Tactical Air Control And Navigation) system that the government was converting for use in smaller civilian airports. I never looked back and spend most of my next 40 years working my way up to Publications Manager for SUSS MicroTec's Bonder Division. (I also got a Journalism/Computer Science degree along the way. Throughout the whole trip, I also was an avid semi- and now professional photographer. It was a blast crawling around a robot controlled bonding system to grab shots for illustrating mine and my staff's manuals. I can't think of any other career that would have been as rewarding, except maybe being a small scale, high-quality vintner.
Al Geist-Geist Arts
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"...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better to be a pilgrim without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong threshold each day." (Sy Safransky)
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Cardimon, Craig
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 3:38 PM
To: 'Lin Sims'; 'Gene Kim-Eng'
Cc: 'TechWhirl (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)'
Subject: RE: Post about a creative writer who went into tech writing for a spell
My experience is similar. I majored in biology in college, but I saw that a Technical Writing Option was offered, and I felt I needed to take it. Took decades for it to pay off, but Iâm very glad I earned the certificate.
~Craig
From: Lin Sims [mailto:ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 3:35 PM
To: Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>
Cc: Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>; TechWhirl (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com) <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: Re: Post about a creative writer who went into tech writing for a spell
I didn't even know there was such a thing as tech writing until my final year in college. I was working on an English degree, and the university offered it in two "concentrations", one in literature and one in writing. There were a variety of writing classes, but only one in technical writing. Once I found out about it, I never looked back. I was _born_ to be a tech writer.
On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 3:16 PM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com<mailto:techwr -at- genek -dot- com>> wrote:
I don't know any, and suspect that most would-be poets, novelists and screenwriters would consider going into technical writing an admission of failure in their chosen field and be reluctant to admit it.
I do know a couple of tech writers who have managed to sell creative works they've done on the side, though.
Gene Kim-Eng
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Lin Sims
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