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> I want to mention that two of these companies were manufacturing
facilities
> and one was a telecom; each time, I have worked in engineering
departments,
> where my background in physics, engineering, and CAD really paid
off.
> I know in at least one of my interviews, the fact I knew AutoCAD was
*the*
> deciding factor in my getting the job, and it at least contributed
in the
> others. If you are looking to write for software, the desired skill
sets
> would be different. In that case, a C++ class or Java or the like
would be
> more beneficial.
I have a similar story with a project I'm working on right now.
What they were looking for was a writer with a strong background in
the principles of adult education--so I figured, when I went after it,
that I had a snowball's chance of hell of even getting an interview.
I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call asking me to come in for
a meeting. I was even more surprised when the meeting turned into a
contract.
One of the things, I think, that really gave me the edge was my
training and experience as an electrical engineer. In fact, I'd
worked as an engineer for one of the company's own clients, so I had
related industry experience to boot.
All the math in my own background seems to be making me a lightning
rod for parts of the project where documenting some arithmetic is
involved. Guess who gets to do the procedures with sample
calculations?
--
John Fleming
Technical Writer
Edmonton, Alberta
email: johnf -at- ecn -dot- ab -dot- ca
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