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 suppose anyone who has made the transition probably isn't still hanging
out on techwr-l,
>but I feel sure there's some excellent knowledge to be tapped here. I am
really losing it
>at this job, or at least I feel like I am, and I've got to get out before
they help me out.
I resubscribed to techwr-l recently to see what's happening with tech
communications outside of help-authoring tools (still following HATT and
wwp-users) and structured publishing technologies. I can't really say that
I've ever departed from the industry, but I have gone from writing to tool
consulting to training to management and back again. I do plenty of
technical writing, but usually in support of consulting and training
activities. I have been working as an XML solutions analyst for the last
nine years (including an 8-year stint as a self-employed consultant).
I found my exit by focusing on the elements of the job that interest me:
tools and technologies. Writing and editing lost their fascination for me
relatively early, but I always liked the new technologies (the
blinkenlichten, if you will), and I could never keep my cotton-pickin' hands
off of them.
I would suggest you look at those aspects of the job that make you want to
come to work. If writing documentation is what has always done it for you,
then you don't need a new emphasis-you need a new employer. If you love
making someone's prose better, then you should probably be looking at
editing opportunities.
I think the real concern is fear of change. Trust me, you've been doing this
for a long time, and you have expertise you don't realize you have. Find the
thing you love about what you do, and look for those opportunities that seek
those skills.
It's good to see some familiar names on the list still.
Bill Burns - Senior Content Analyst
bburns -at- vasont -dot- com
717-793-3894 ext. 414
Vasont Systems
www.vasont.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
