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Another spin-off: where to find writing jobs that are NOT IT related?
Subject:Another spin-off: where to find writing jobs that are NOT IT related? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 09 Jun 2005 08:53:38 -0400
Mitchell Maltenfort wondered: <<I'm a Ph. D. in Biomedical
Enginering... Long story short, I realized I'm not happy as a
researcher among researchers. I like research, I think there are some
cool projects going on in my field, but among other things I'd rather
write for the bright generalist or layperson than for the specialist.>>
I can dig it. I bailed on a research career and took up the life of the
technical editor and translator. Haven't regretted it for a second.
<<While being a technical writer superficially seems a natural segue,
most of the jobs are by, of and for the IT industry.>>
That's certainly the popular perception (given the importance of the
computer industry), but it's a misperception. There are tons of non-IT
jobs out there--probably far more in total than there are in IT. For
example, I believe it was the June 2005 issue of STC's Intercom
magazine that contained some good stuff on working in the financial
sector. My own article on "Finding work in tough times" will hopefully
be appearing there in a few months, and I've got an article on "finding
work in scientific communication" that I hope to publish on the
techwr-l site in a few months. Keep your eyes on the announcements.
<<I have background to offer and I don't want to throw it away.>>
In your case, there are many obvious places to look for work: Any
company that produces medical hardware, from human orthotics and
prosthetics to MRI machines, needs documentation, whether for end-users
or internal clients (developers, marketers, tech. support, etc.). Any
university doing research in your area may need writers and editors,
particularly if they regularly produce grant proposals to obtain
research funding. And so on... those are just the obvious ones.
Have you thought about writing popular science for the usual suspects
(Scientific American, Discover, Popular Science, etc.)? For newspapers
and other magazines? Special-interest magazines for people with unique
needs related to your field (e.g., articles on prosthetics and
supportive devices for seniors)? There's good money to be made here
too, particularly if you still enjoy your field enough to keep up with
the latest research.
<<Giving it some thought, I came up with a list of niches but realized
I wasn't sure how to go networking for them>>
Here's the biggie: Find potential employers, and make your pitch based
on solving _their problems_. I got a ton of journal editing work by
saying something really simple: "You get a lot of great science from
ESL authors, but you can't read their English to decide whether the
science is any good. You have no budget to hire an editor, and your
in-house copyeditors are swamped. Give these authors my brochure, with
no endorsement on your part, and I'll guarantee (at no expense to
you... the author pays the whole shot) a manuscript so well written
you'll only have to pay attention to the science."
See how it works? Understand the real and vexing problem the client
has, and tell them how you're going to solve it. That's how you get
hired.
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