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Re: career path in the third and fourth decades?

Subject: Re: career path in the third and fourth decades?
From: "Elaine" <2egarnet -at- rogers -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 11:21:34 -0500

This is a little bit off-topic but here goes. I found out at the age of 45 (after taking time off to raise a young son) that my employability had hit ground level. After some brief stints at positions related to technology (sales, design, etc.), I cashed in my chips and started my own business writing documents for R&D tax credits and grants. My income is now much higher than in my 20's to 40's. As a consultant, the ripe age of 57 years and grey hair seem to carry some weight.

My advice to those of you who hit the ceiling (and it's not so much a glass ceiling as a thick layer of men) would be to consider a little out-of-the-box thinking and never, never stop learning new skills.

My own private beast was a fear of men in three piece suits. So, when I started my business, I networked ad infinitum and found that these corporate biggies were just as nervous and ignorant as I was. It helped my confidence tremendously, to the point that I can now ask for what I want. Or, maybe it's a function of being an old crone. I don't know.

Elaine


----- Original Message ----- From: "Martin Bosworth" <martinhbosworth -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 10:52 AM
Subject: Re: career path in the third and fourth decades?


On 11/22/05, Monica Cellio <cellio -at- pobox -dot- com> wrote:

Hello,

It's my impression that even the best technical writers will hit a glass
ceiling long before they complete a 40- or 45-year career, unless they
adjust their careers away from technical writing. (If you know of places
where that's not true -- where, say, a 30-year veteran can continue to
advance in salary while remaining a technical writer -- please let me
know.) I've got a pretty good idea of how the first 20-odd years of a
tech-writing career can play out, but am interested in hearing from
people who are farther along. What changes in direction did you make to
stay marketable while using the skills you've acquired? I see a few
possibilities.

Monica,

I'm at the very beginning of my career, so perhaps I'm not best
qualified to answer this. What I can say is that I love TW and would
like to be doing it well into my golden years (I'm 30 now :)), but I
know that it's wise to put many eggs in many baskets.

The avenue I'm pursuing is technology journalism. Tech writing has
been of tremendous help in focusing and strengthening my ability to
write clear and concise prose, which is what good reporting demands,
especially lately. :) Learning to write in the AP style really isn't
that different from writing a technical manual...there are specific
rules and guidelines you need to emphasize, and the key is to be
understood by as many readers as possible.

Plus, I love technology, so writing about its effects is just as
enjoyable as writing about the processes.

The best advice I have been given is to stay current. Keep abreast of
new technologies, new job fields, new requirements, and new demands.
The more you can combine years of experience with knowledge of the
newest gizmos and goodies, the more likely you are to stay high on the
employment charts. Maybe that's naive, but it works for me.

Martin
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References:
career path in the third and fourth decades?: From: Monica Cellio
Re: career path in the third and fourth decades?: From: Martin Bosworth

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