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.
I know people who've made similar moves and liked it.
Goodness knows we need more tech people who can write!
Chuck, are you truly interested doing in software development (programming,
testing, or whatever), or are you just thinking that there are more jobs
there? (There aren't.)
Many people go in through the customer support or QA route. In these jobs,
your background in understanding customer requirements is a real plus, along
with your ability to communicate.
If you want to get into the software development/programming side of things,
you'll most likely need more training. My experience was with big companies
and systems manufacturers. You might have a better shot at it if you were
working at a company that specializes in applications you know something
about. Financial services firms come to mind. A writer friend of mine has
recently been designing an information system for a large bank. No to imply
that's trivial - it's not! It's just different from systems programming,
network applications, operating systems, and the like.
If you don't take classes, you can still get there, but it's harder to do on
your own, IME.
Cisco runs some good classes under the banner of "Cisco Networking Academy"
through ITT Tech in Norwood, not toooooooo far from where you are. Yes, it's
a certification program - in fact, a whole series of them. You learn how to
implement networks. If that's not your bag, there are other, very focused,
programs. But that can get expensive, and they take time.
So, the long and short of it, figure out if you really want to do
programming (or whatever). Talk to people who are actually doing the work.
We tech writers can give you some insights, but you really need to talk with
some programmers or software engineers. You could go to an ACM meeting, for
example. There is - or was - a Boston chapter. Check their website. Ditto
IEEE. Before you commit that much of your personal resources to making the
change, find out what's out there and whether you might like doing the work.
A word of caution: you'll be competing against people who have degrees in
software engineering. Academic credentials can help you get your foot in the
door. So can having an influential brother-in-law. But the former is better.
HTH,
Marguerite
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Order RoboHelp X3 in November and receive $100 mail in rebate, FREE WebHelp
Merge Module and the new RoboPDF - add powerful PDF output functionality
to RoboHelp X3. Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
Check out SnagIt - The Screen Capture Standard!
Download a free 30-day trial from http://www.techsmith.com/rdr/txt/twr
Find out what all the other tech writers, including Dan, already know!
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
