TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I graduated May 1995 from the MA program in Business and
Technical Communication. I felt really prepared for life as a tech
writer because the courses in general tech comm, editing,
manuals, and proposals were taught by great instructors and
we had a TON of projects which built my confidence and made
for a marvelous portfolio ;) Iowa State also has a PhD program
in Rhetoric and Professional Communication--most of the PhD
types I knew were deep into theory and had no desire to
get writing jobs. everyone who came close to finishing got great
tenure track positions, though!
I have heard the program was starting to become more
theoretical in general, which would be too bad (IMHO). I really
appreciated the "hands on" aspect of investigating a certain
area of technical communication--like proposals or manuals.
guess graduate school is really what you make of it--if you
want technical experiences you can certainly find them!
good luck!
Janet Renze
jrenze -at- cgn -dot- org
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