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Subject:Re: Open Discussion From:Penny Staples <pstaples -at- AIRWIRE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 8 Dec 1998 14:41:23 -0600
Hi Leona,
I started in 1988 working for an insurance company, preparing documents to
be used on-line. They hired me straight out of university (for my degrees I
guess) and were prepared to spend a few months training me. I worked there
for 5 years. Then I worked freelance for a year, where I did a lot of
different kinds of things: advertising copy, proposals, on-line help,
end-user software manuals, etc. Working freelance was probably some of the
best experience I ever got, but it was very stressful. For the last 4 years
I've been working for a computer hardware developer (we design and make
wireless computer terminals). I write end-user manuals, assembly
instructions, testing instructions and I look after the company web-site. So
I guess I've wandered quite a distance from my original education.
The biggest change I've seen: companies used to be more willing to hire
someone with potential and spend a few months training them. I think new
Tech Writers are facing a more difficult job world; companies expect a new
hire to become productive very quickly.
Are Technical Writers required to know more about programming? Depends on
the field you're writing for. Personally, even in the Software field, I
don't think you're required to be a programmer. But if you're going to
document software, you have to understand how programs are written and the
logic behind how they work. There are always going to be new, hot, must-have
skills and areas of knowlege and it's important to keep up with what these
are. For a while it was on-line help. Lately it's been web-based stuff. Next
year it'll be something else. Tech Writers have to stay alert and flexible.
If you stop learning new things, you become obsolete, fast.
Hope this answers your questions and is of some interest to the list!
Penny Staples
pstaples -at- airwire -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: Leona L. Magee-Dupree <leona -dot- magee-dupree -at- CCBCC -dot- COM>
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Date: December 8, 1998 1:25 PM
Subject: Open Discussion
>Penny, what types of writing have you done in your ten years of experience?
>How has technical writing changed since you have been writing? Do you
>think technical writers are required to know more about programming in the
>field than in the past? What are your thoughts?--Leona
