Re: How to I get into this field?

["CL T" <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com>]

When I decided to re-tool my career to Tech Writing specifically, I did what
some here have suggested.

1 - Focused on what I knew. In this case, since I was already a published
author and a Web Developer, I pushed that knowledge into software
documentation. I did some freebies, scored a few contract jobs and
shamelessly promoted myself on job sites and a web portfolio.

2 - Spoke with several local Tech Writers and Graphic Designers to discover
the best tools to learn. I downloaded trial versions, got books, learned how
to use the software.

3 - Joined lists like this and asked a lot of questions. Read, researched,
learned.

4 - Branched out. Hardware, SDK, API, Medical, Financial, etc.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and 
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical 
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat