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.
Subject:RE: entering tech writer field From:Kim Wallace <KWallace -at- stewart -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 19 Nov 2001 14:02:45 -0600
-----Original Message-----
From: Win Day [mailto:winday -at- home -dot- com]
Here's a question for the list (and I know I'm going to get a LOT of
different answers!):
Let's say your kid (OK, he's 18 and much bigger than I am!) says he
WANTS
to get into technical writing and knowledge management. What course of
undergraduate study would you recommend, and why?
==============================================================
I'd say, study anything you want at a school that emphasizes writing skills.
College is a time for variety. Dip your toes into any pond that doesn't look
scummy or disgusting (or if it does, learn how to take samples and test them
in the lab).
At my college, the profs were and are, um, emphatic, about writing skills.
The entire first year is dedicated to writing often, and consequently,
learning to write well. It doesn't matter what seminar you take. You are
going to write until your hands fall off.
Any good liberal arts & sciences college (please note BOTH items)will make
sure that you do this. Talk to people who went there. If they never mention
writing, forget about it.
FWIW, I fell into tech writing. I didn't even know such a thing existed. I
got my first tech writing gig for a banking software company because I had
been working in the audit department of a mortgage banking company and they
figured since I knew mortgages, I'd pick up the tech stuff.
It's been almost 12 years since that happened. I'm still writing and even
liking it most days. ;-)
Kim Wallace
Landata Systems
kwallace -at- stewart -dot- com
Collect Royalties, Not Rejection Letters! Tell us your rejection story when you
submit your manuscript to iUniverse Nov. 6 -Dec. 15 and get five free copies of
your book. What are you waiting for? http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
