Re: Wannabe seeking professional input

[Linnea Dodson <tscribe -at- HOTMAIL -dot- COM>]

>> What I need from you, the pros, is your
>> input as to which courses should be included in my course of study.

These are the things I've been asked to do as a Technical Writer:

Write/Design brochures
Write/Design a web site
Write/Design a computer based training course
Write software user's manual
Edit army regulations
Design documentation management process
Design filing system for documents
Write internal "how to do this document" handouts
Write internal Style Guide
Edit somebody else's internal Style Guide

When I first joined techwhirl, I asked everyone what non-writing
assignments they also handled.  Indexing, graphics, and training were
among the top answers.

So when you design your course, you need to show an employer at least
the basics of:

 - HTML coding
 - instructional design
 - editing skills
 - indexing skills
 - grasp of styles and voices (marketspeak for public enterprise is much
different than regulationspeak for a government contract)
 - graphics design
 - recordkeeping/management
 - desktop publishing

It would also be invaluable to take at least one multimedia programming
course; I got my foot in a door once with a rudimentary knowledge of
Macromedia's Director.  I couldn't do more than a basic program on it to
save my life, but they felt my experience would make me more
understanding for the SMEs to work with.  They were right.

If you want to know specific courses, may I suggest:

Web page design
Basic multimedia programming or computer science
Basic Library Science
Marketing (to learn marketspeak for the brochures/advertising)
Computer graphics
Desktop publishing
Editing
Training/Instructional Design

Nea Dodson
professional writer, amateur author

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