RE: The Best TC/TW/TE Education...commentary

[Kathryn Marshall <Kathryn -dot- E -dot- Marshall -at- jpl -dot- nasa -dot- gov>]

The only thing about getting further education in an *industry* is that you 
potentially get pigeon-holed as only being able to write for a particular 
industry. I guess that has its advantages and disadvantages. But I like 
variety. One of the things I love about tech writing is that I get to write 
about a bunch of different things, from rocket science to fashion (ooh, bad 
flashback of a failed dot com I used to work for!). Does this mean I am a 
jack of all trades and master of nothing? Probably... :-)

I've applied for jobs where the "must have" requirements were -- in my 
opinion -- ridiculous (e.g., "must have 2 years experience writing user 
manuals for amusement park rides..."). John, I DO see your point, but isn't 
part of being a tech writer having the ability to translate technical 
material into laymen's terms? Of course, that also implies being able to 
interview SME's, ask intelligent questions, learn quickly, and have good 
writing skills.

FWIW, I got my undergrad degree in tech writing from Carnegie Mellon. I 
majored in it because I wanted to switch out of engineering and it was the 
only program that I liked that would allow me to graduate on time. The 
program focused on 2 years of math, science, and computers, then two years 
of writing classes (style, rhetoric, real-life tech writing exercises). The 
most valuable thing I got out of my education was the ability to problem 
solve. I highly recommend CMU's program.

-Kathryn

At 6/26/2002 08:33 AM, Foster, Willow wrote: