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.
Although, as my sig shows, I keep one foot (or at least a couple of
toes) in the academic world, tech writing is the career I should have
pursued twenty years ago. As a teacher, I experienced the same
frustration others have expressed. Moreover, I am extremely introverted
and found it psychologically stressful to be in front of a class for so
much of the working day. I enjoy my one or two evening classes per
semester very much, but that is as much teaching as I care to do.
It's my impression that many people who come to tech writing from
academia do so fortuitously. That was my experience. As an advanced
Ph.D. student specializing in rhetoric and composition, I was given the
opportunity to teach an introductory technical writing course. That
experience helped me land my first (and only) full-time teaching job,
where I coordinated the technical-writing program, an experience which
in turn helped me land a contract position as a procedure writer when I
left the university. The chemical plant where I worked was a dirty,
smelly place, but that (at age 38) was the first time in my life I ever
looked forward to going to work every day.
And one more advantage of tech writing over teaching: No essay grading
or justifying why the writer didn't get an A!
Planning to enjoy the "window" from now until January 8, while I have
only one job, and wishing all a Merry Christmas <substitute whatever
seasonal greeting you prefer>,
Sarah Bane
Day job: Technical Writer, SpectrumRetail Corporation
--Parent company to the ProphetLine family of retail technology
products---
Night job: Associate Instructor, Westark College
sarah -dot- bane -at- spectrumretail -dot- com
sbane -at- pipeline -dot- westark -dot- edu
Opinions expressed are my own and not endorsed by SpectrumRetail or by
Westark.
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