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>I'm a professor of Technical Communication at Lawrence Technological
>University. Our program is very new and we're trying to make the program
>sensitive to industry needs.
Ah hah! So that's what you are up to:
If you teach advanced MS-Word 6, Corel Draw, HTML and SGML along with
designing writing and editing, I will hire your graduates. If you
don't, I won't.
Seriously, the software platform matters hardly at all. There is an
"approach" to setting up a documentation project that results in
stable, maintainable files with good integrity and version control.
If you teach that, your graduates can do it on practically ANY
hardware/software platform.
When hiring a writer, the first thing I look for is: Can they use
words? Are they craftsmen of the English language?
Now, can they use Windows? If no, I put that resume aside.
Now, can they do their own simple artwork?
Now, can they design and structure a document?
Finally, can they manage a project? Project management seems to be a
weakness in our industry. But I specialise in software documentation,
where we have to hit the press when they do. Good project management
is CRITICAL to their success in my shop: I cannot afford surprises on
delivery day.
