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Rowena wrote:
<I am curious to see
if anyone has any opinions/experience with
the following:
- Are there any trends in tech writing toward
hiring bilingual writers, especially those who
are bilingual in an Asian language?>
Many years ago I was told I could make allot of money by working in Taiwan
as a technical writer. After asking about the work environment (5.5 to 6
days a week) and about entertainment lifestyle (shopping, movies, visiting a
city park) I decided that my laid-back outdoor narcissistic necessities
would not be met in Taiwan.
<- How many tech writers use two or more
languages in the workplace?>
I attempt to converse in German to one of the developers in our company, but
not for technical material. Only to tell jokes in my bad German in order to
make them sound funnier (I think that's what he's laughing at).
<- How many tech writers have moved to another
country in order to learn the language (while still
working in the field)?>
When I spent a month in Dresden, Germany, I did some research in TW
opportunities writing English content. Industry people I spoke with
expressed keen interest, but I think I would have to lobby companies to
create the position. I did find native English speakers who were writing
English technical manuals when I was in Cologne.
David Neufeld
dave_neufeld -at- spectrumsignal -dot- com
Spectrum Signal Processing, Inc.
