RE: Newbie in Houston

[Ellen Black <eblack -at- usdata -dot- com>]

To April:

I strongly disagree with the statement that says:  "I know they exist, but I
can't see why a firm with any self respect would hire a tech writer without
a four-year degree. (Sorry.) Run, don't walk,to your nearest diploma mill
and get yourself a liberal arts education."

I've worked with many people who have a degree (some have multiple degrees),
and they still are completely unable to write well (or write at all). And,
I've worked with many people who do not have any type of degree, and they're
incredibly good writers. There is no hard and fast rule here. You don't have
to have a degree to be a good writer or to be sucessful (just ask Peter
Jennings).

So, please don't be disheartened by this statement. You keep a positive
attitude and contact everyone that you know in this field. You're going to
be just fine.

Ellen


-----Original Message-----
From: Jo Baer [mailto:jbaer -at- mailbox1 -dot- tcfbank -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, November 05, 1999 12:14 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Newbie in Houston


April,

I asked a friend (who isn't on this list) in Houston if he had any tips
for you. He was kind enough to take the time to put together what I
think is some very useful information.

Jo would you kindly consider posting this to the list?

Melanie and Maria and Zach this is just FYI.

-----Original Message-----
From: Deyo, Steve 
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 1999 4:48 PM
To: 'pix_l -at- geocities -dot- com'
Subject: FW: [Fwd: Newbie in Houston (What do I do?)]

April,

As you can see, a friend sent this to me for possible comment. The
lesson
here might be that you may have friends you havent met yet. I love your
email address BTW.

I do like talking with persons who are new to the field--it's all so
fresh
(and none of us should ever grow stale)! Here are the briefest comments
I
can make:

1. If you ever find a contract position that lasts more than 3-6 months,
youve come as close to what "real" employees call job security as you
ever
will while youre a part of the "contingent workforce." I'm at Compaq,
where
no sane person lasts for more than three months anyway!

2. Please dont tell me youre working for CoreComm.

3. Recruiters place contractors and employees, but I suspect the
contractors
are more likely to get a job offer. Working for a contract firm is like
making your career out of not being an employee. Either way works
though.

4. After I got to Houston, I signed on with nearly every recruiter in
town.
About a half dozen actually interviewed me, and three sent me to client
companies to interview. Nothing ever came of it, but I found a few
recruiters that are really on the ball. (Other end of the food chain
than
you, though.)

5. Don't expect a recruiter or contract firm to write you a meal ticket.
You
win positions and success by representing yourself well and constantly
growing in your field.

6. "Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which one will grow;
maybe
this one, maybe that; or maybe they all will." (Ecclesiastes)

7. I know they exist, but I can't see why a firm with any self respect
would
hire a tech writer without a four-year degree. (Sorry.) Run, don't walk,
to
your nearest diploma mill and get yourself a liberal arts education.
Focus
it with a technical edge as much as possible, but don't get an
engineering
degree unless you want to do something completely different. The exact
major
never seems to matter so long as you know how to THINK and ASK
QUESTIONS!

8. Some schools offer technical writing degrees. Get one that is
relevant
with the times: It expects you to use FrameMaker and RoboHelp, addresses
on-line (disk-based) as well as online (intranet) help systems, and
teaches
information mapping or some similar model.

9. PageMaker is for wussie corporate dweebs. If you ever tell a tech
writer
that PageMaker is as good as FrameMaker, you may have a fight on your
hands.
Both good programs, mind you, but a bit like comparing a steak knife
with a
Swiss Army knife. Real designers use Quark XPress (or, possibly now,
InDesign).

10. If you can learn a new software program over breakfast, you'll do
fine
in this field. If you keep forgetting how to select a cell range to
print in
Excel, try something farther from the front line.

11. Learn to eat stress and deadlines for lunch.

12. Schmooze and make professional friends with everyone you can. What's
called networking when you're new to the field is simply how you do your
job
once you've arrived.

13. Be a real person that others can respect. Get to know and like
yourself
and others will too.

14. Learn to write and edit economically. Develop a lean style. Know
your
audience and always write with them in mind.

I guess that's enough for now. It's an exciting field, welcome to it.

I should say that I work for Kitba Consulting Services (www.kitba.com).
It's
an excellent firm and I'm sure the owners would be happy to receive your
resume.

Steve Deyo

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sponsored by Weisner Associates Inc., Online Information Services
Moving your documentation online? We can help with standards, planning,
or training. Visit us at http://www.weisner.com or mailto:info -at- weisner -dot- com -dot- 

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp. Make your team FrameMaker experts with
our Power User training for Adobe Acrobat and FrameMaker. Delivered at your
U.S. site or ours. http://www.digipubcorp.com,
mailto:trainme -at- digipubcorp -dot- com


---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: eblack -at- usdata -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to $subst('Email.Unsub')
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.