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Subject:Career in TW for MFA? From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"Techwr-L (E-mail)" <TECHWR-L -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>, "'Pam Hurley'" <hurleyp -at- worldnet -dot- att -dot- net> Date:Wed, 31 May 2000 15:56:32 -0400
Pam Hurley reports that <<a former student of mine has suddenly realized
that her MFA has been a waste of time (i.e., she can't find a job), and
she's interested in the TW field.>>
Well, if that education got her interested in techwhirling, it can't have
been a total waste, can it? <g> The important thing here is to realize that
no education is ever wasted: it makes you who you are.
<<She took two writing classes while in college, Business Writing and TW,
has few computer skills, and has no idea what aspect of TW she's interested
in.>>
Sounds like she's grasping at straws rather than actively seeking out work
she enjoys. Since she was a student of yours, do you think that any of her
education is applicable? The two courses are a good starting point, but with
poor computer skills and no firm idea of what she wants to do, I'd suggest
her chances of finding good work are limited, other than perhaps through a
temp agency. If you can help her identify what kinds of work she enjoys
doing, then she can at least narrow down the field.
<<I suggested that she go back to school, either to get additional computer
knowledge or a Master's in TW, but she insists she's through with school.>>
Unless she's certain she can pick up the skills she needs on her own, it
sounds like she's got a bit of an attitude problem to overcome (i.e, burnout
and disillusionment with learning). Start by convincing her that she's going
nowhere in our field without good computer skills, then suggest what skills
she needs to learn (you know what they are). It won't hurt her to learn to
use a word processor well even if she decides _not_ to go into techwhirling.
While she's learning, she should spend some time thinking about what fields
interest her; when she knows, put her in touch with us to ask for
suggestions.
"Technical writing... requires understanding the audience, understanding
what activities the user wants to accomplish, and translating the often
idiosyncratic and unplanned design into something that appears to make
sense."--Donald Norman, The Invisible Computer
