Re: Thoughts of a tech. comm. grad (was: Getting started in tech writing...)

[Jennifer Delmerico <Jennifer -dot- Delmerico -at- TSTNET -dot- COM>]

I am a graduate of a pseudo-tech comm program.  I "stumbled" into it after 3
years as a math/cs major.  At Georgia Tech, the name of the degree is
Science, Technology, and Culture, but, with help especially from one
professor, I fashioned my program into something that I could market as Tech
Comm.  I learned about writing, editing,gathering information, and more
about style than I thought I had!  However, the first job I got was as a
Website editor.  Within 6 months I had moved from just writing/editing HTML
to training fellow employees and our customers on Internet basics.  I wrote
my own training materials and presentations.

When I decided to leave that job and seek work at a TW, I took the training
materials I had produced with me as writing samples.  Two individuals at
interviews at two different companies commented that my training materials
looked just like the documentation they produce.  I was offered both jobs.
I accpeted one.

Although I could write, and I had some intuition about how documentation
should look and "act" before taking my current job, I have learned more in
the past 9  months about style and structure and organization and truly
*good* writing than I can recount, thanks to the mentoring of one colleague.

I am a *huge* proponent of higher eduction, I loved my program at Georgia
Tech, and I know I learned a lot.  But nothing in 5 years at Tech compares
to the hardcore, full-force learning I've had to do to work in this
profession.

********************************
Jennifer Delmerico, Sr. Tech Writer
Transaction Software Technologies, Inc.
770-446-3211
jennifer -dot- delmerico -at- tstnet -dot- com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keith Wolfe [mailto:keith -at- MERGE -dot- COM]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 1998 2:09 PM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: Thoughts of a tech. comm. grad (was: Getting started in tech
> writing...)
 How many tech writers
> out there have
> degrees in technical writing? How many stumbled into this
> field from other professions?


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