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Subject:Learning your job From:Dan Lupo <dlupo -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 6 Jan 1995 13:52:56 CST
I'm intrigued by the wealth of strategies being suggested for gathering
information from SMEs. I am struck by how resourceful we are -- and
apparently need to be -- to do our jobs . . . which makes me curious about
the process of learning to be a successful technical communicator.
The questions I would like to pose are these:
1. How did you learn to do your job? -- through formal courses in tech
comm? Internships? Did you have a mentor? Did you
essentially teach yourself?
What is learnable in a classroom? What is not? How did you
learn it? How would you like to have learned it?
2. How do you continue to learn? -- as quickly evolving technology
reshapes what we do and how we do it, how are you attempting
to continue the learning to keep pace with evolving job duties?
Classes (in-house, local institution)? Journals? Professional
organizations? Internet? Just doing it?
Anecdotes, horror stories, plugs for programs, successful strategies --
I'm interested in hearing it all.