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.
- Are you a technical communicator in a computer-related industry?
- Did you receive a degree in technical communication (or some
variation on that phrase) within the last 5 years?
If the answer to both is "yes," we'd like to find our more about
your educational experiences and how well they prepared you for
the work you're doing.
Please take a few moments to fill out the survey below. We'd
also appreciate it if you could forward this to other technical
communicators in your computer-related organization.
Send your completed survey to: rgarb -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
by April 23rd.
We will present our findings at the 1993 IEEE International
Professional Communications Conference.
Rachel Garb Internet: rgarb -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Information Developer Phone: (408) 463-4845
IBM Corporation, J35/C446
P.O. Box 49023 IBM mail: GARB at STLVM27
San Jose, CA 95161-9023 Tieline: 8/543-4845
.................................................................
Disclaimer:
These are the opinions of my employer...NOT!!
.................................................................
1. Which describes your highest completed education in technical
communication?
___ Undergraduate major
___ Undergraduate minor or concentration
___ Post-undergraduate certificate
___ Graduate major
2. From which school did you obtain your highest degree, and what
is the official title of your degree? (e.g., M.A. Technical
Writing; B.A. Journalism with Concentration in Technical
Communication)
Month & year hired: _____________________________________________
Length of time at company: ______________________________________
Job Activities
--------------
The following is a list of activities that may or may not be
relevant to the type of work that you do/did in your FIRST
PERMANENT job as a technical communicator. For each item,
fill in the blank with the number that best represents how
much the activity is a part of your job, where a 5 is "very
frequently a part" and a 1 is "never a part."
___ Producing user manuals
___ Producing reference manuals
___ Producing tutorial manuals
___ Producing online books
___ Producing online contextual help
___ Producing online tutorials
___ Producing promotional materials
___ Producing training materials
___ Writing product messages
___ Writing user examples and scenarios
___ Analyzing the audience
___ Outlining
___ Indexing
___ Revising
___ Editing
___ Illustrating
___ Designing book layouts
___ Defining terminology
___ Collaborating
___ Researching technical content
___ Planning libraries
___ Producing schedules
___ Managing/leading others
___ Holding reviews
___ Measuring quality
___ Documenting in-house process
___ Giving oral presentations
___ Meeting with customers
___ Writing in-house grants/proposals
___ Usability testing
___ Designing user interfaces
___ Writing in-house product specifications
___ Producing video/multimedia presentations
In the spaces below, list any other job activities and, for each,
indicated the appropriate number.
___
___
___
___
___
Classes
-------
The following is a list of activities that may or may not have
been covered in your technical communications classes. For each
item, fill in the blank with the number that best represents how
well your education prepared you to perform that activity, whether
or not you actually perform/performed it in your FIRST PERMANENT job.
A 5 is "completely prepared" and a 1 is "completely unprepared."
___ Producing user manuals
___ Producing reference manuals
___ Producing tutorial manuals
___ Producing online books
___ Producing online contextual help
___ Producing online tutorials
___ Producing promotional materials
___ Producing training materials
___ Writing product messages
___ Writing user examples and scenarios
___ Analyzing the audience
___ Outlining
___ Indexing
___ Revising
___ Editing
___ Illustrating
___ Designing book layouts
___ Defining terminology
___ Collaborating
___ Researching technical content
___ Planning libraries
___ Producing schedules
___ Managing/leading others
___ Holding reviews
___ Measuring quality
___ Documenting in-house process
___ Giving oral presentations
___ Meeting with customers
___ Writing in-house grants/proposals
___ Usability testing
___ Designing user interfaces
___ Writing in-house product specifications
___ Producing video/multimedia presentations
In the spaces below, list any other job activities and, for each,
indicated the appropriate number.
___
___
___
___
___
Internships/Summer jobs
------------------------
The following is a list of activities that may or may not have
been a part of your internship or summer job experiences, if any.
For each item, fill in the blank with the number that best
represents how well these experiences prepared you to perform
that activity, whether or not you actually perform/performed
it in your FIRST PERMANENT job. A 5 is "completely prepared"
and a 1 is "completely unprepared."
If you did not have any internships or summer jobs during your
study of technical communications, please leave this section blank.
___ Producing user manuals
___ Producing reference manuals
___ Producing tutorial manuals
___ Producing online books
___ Producing online contextual help
___ Producing online tutorials
___ Producing promotional materials
___ Producing training materials
___ Writing product messages
___ Writing user examples and scenarios
___ Analyzing the audience
___ Outlining
___ Indexing
___ Revising
___ Editing
___ Illustrating
___ Designing book layouts
___ Defining terminology
___ Collaborating
___ Researching technical content
___ Planning libraries
___ Producing schedules
___ Managing/leading others
___ Holding reviews
___ Measuring quality
___ Documenting in-house process
___ Giving oral presentations
___ Meeting with customers
___ Writing in-house grants/proposals
___ Usability testing
___ Designing user interfaces
___ Writing in-house product specifications
___ Producing video/multimedia presentations
In the spaces below, list any other job activities and, for each,
indicated the appropriate number.
___
___
___
___
___
Personal Background (optional)
------------------------------
May we contact you to further discuss this survey?
