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Subject:Re: Job Information From:Faith Weber <weber -at- EASI -dot- ENET -dot- DEC -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 21 Jul 1993 09:17:33 PDT
I'm surprised no one has mentioned biotechnology companies as
potential employers. They have to put all kinds of information
into written form, especially for submitting stuff to FDA. Since
FDA is getting on the net and getting more interested in electronic
document distribution due to the huge volume of data they pass
back and forth, this could be *really* interesting for someone
who's interested in both science and computers. If I had the
science background I'd be thinking about it myself. I suspect,
though, that in at least some companies you may have to convince
them that they need you. Also, check out the company -- some are
pretty shaky.
From what I can tell, it's probably better to have a degree or
experience in a subject matter area, and either additional training
or another degree in writing. I hate to say this but a lot of
technical people have little, if any, regard for a writing degree
without any education or experience in something that seems more
tangible. Also, it's a big advantage with employers if you have
experience with the stuff you're writing about.
Regarding "worthless" degrees, I think that's the case for any
writing degree. Samples of your work from some "real world" experience
are vital. I went on the overqualified/underqualified roller coaster
for a while when looking for tech writing jobs (overqualified to work
as a word processor and "work my way into" tech writing -- only six
years ago this was not unusual! -- and underqualified to start as
a tech writer). It all worked out fine and I've been working as
a tech writer for over five years now, and it's still fun. Never a
dull moment!
While there's no replacement for "real world" experience, I think if
you try, you can find a way to get your foot in the door. Then the
next step is to make sure you don't get overly specialized, and keep
up to date with your field and the technology other writers are using.
That can be at least as much of a challenge as getting employed in
the first place!
Good luck to those of you going out to look for work!
Faith Weber
weber -at- easi -dot- enet -dot- dec -dot- com
