Life After Tech Writing (Possibly OT, But I Hope Not)

[s -dot- ikohn -at- att -dot- net]

Hello all,

I apologize in advance if this is off-topic, but I want 
to put closure on some postings I made anonymously 
around this time last year. If anyone is interested, 
look in the archives for ?Losing My Profession.? 

Although I left the profession, I still peruse the 
archives occasionally. With the recent discussions about 
the sad state of the job market for TWs, I thought that 
some whirlers might enjoy the ruminations of a former TW 
who left the field without regret. If not, please delete 
and accept my apologies for bothering you. 

A little over a year ago, I was unexpectedly laid off 
from a job as a Senior Technical Author. The irony was 
that I had been a contractor for some time before 
accepting a ?perm? position and had developed a sense of 
jobs being both disposable and easily replaceable. Dot-
coms were truly wonderful places for those of us who 
never bought into the whole corporate thing. In my last 
TW job, I had decided to stay for some time and did some 
of my best ?technical? work, though it was mostly 
tortuously boring.

Following the lay-off, I had a few interviews and 
quickly realized that my heart was no longer in tech 
whirling. In the end, I decided to let it go completely, 
to bite the bullet, and to look for a job teaching 
English. 

Although there may be places where English teachers are 
in great demand, Atlanta is not one of them. I had to 
fight hard to get an offer; my job search skills from 
being a contractor really paid off in that process. The 
factor that finally got me a job offer was my experience 
with technology. Also, my experience working with 
programmers certainly prepared me well for the 
challenges of dealing with hormone-ravaged adolescents.

Before I could be hired, I had to take 5 exams of 
varying difficulty and a crash course in methods of 
teaching. I was then admitted to an alternate 
certification pilot program that facilitates the 
transfer of professionals into teaching. 

Teaching is a lot of things, but it is never boring?or 
easy. I made much more money writing technical manuals 
that I did not care about at all than I will for a long 
time teaching students whom I care about passionately. I 
almost never think about what else I might do with my 
life, but I used to ponder it all the time, especially 
while working on APIs or Programmer?s Guides. I know I 
made the right choice for me.

There is indeed life beyond tech whirling; for me it is 
a better, happier, more involved life. If anyone would 
care to explore career-changing further, I would be 
happy to respond off-list.

Another thing that helped a lot was the support I 
received from people I know. In fact, one of my best 
friends arranged for a six-week contract writing 
training manuals for the summer. I will still have four 
weeks off before school starts again, and the extra 
money is nice.

Finally, I want to thank all the people who responded 
last year. At the time. I read the responses, remained 
anonymous, and then disappeared. After I got my teaching 
job, I wanted to make sure I could get through the first 
year before speaking: an awful lot of people do not. 

I subscribed to this list for years and consider 
numerous people on it my friends. It seemed to me a 
disservice to the community to leave without offering a 
fond farewell, belated though it is, and best wishes to 
all.

Kindest regards,

Sheldon S. Kohn
Atlanta, GA
(grateful recovering tech writer)

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