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Thank you Chantel. Those are all great pieces of advice. Much appreciated.
Phil
On 7 Dec 2010, at 23:39, Chantel Brathwaite wrote:
> Phil,
>
> I think Janet's advice to learn at least one tool from each category is
> sound. If you can do that, then you can probably ramp up on a different
> tool in the same category fairly quickly if needed.
>
> But which tools? If I were in your shoes, I'd study the job ads (current
> ones and ones for the past 6 months to a year if they are available) for the
> industry and part of the country that you are targeting. You'll see which
> tools are in demand and then you can target those, while getting some sort
> of experience with things that are a little less popular, but still being
> sought after by employers. Even a cursory knowledge of those tools might be
> a way for employers to separate you from the crowd.
>
> I will say that since you already know Word, it seems like getting to know
> Framemaker might be helpful - since fewer writers know that. Also taking
> some sort of programming class (maybe Java or some sort of maybe a web
> development class) can be helpful in that it will give you conceptual
> knowledge and an introduction to the language of the people that you'll be
> working with (if you do software tech writing). You might also want to try
> doing some stuff on your own - like setting up a web server, learning how to
> partition a disk on an old computer, or setting up a content management
> system. There's lots of free open source software available - and many of
> these things you can do over a weekend.
>
> I wish you all the very best!
>
>
> Chantel
>
>
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