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Technical Writing can be more than user documentation and on-line help.
Witness yours truly - I call myself a Technical Communicator and I've never
written a single line of documentation! I write about the technical
capabilities of Oracle software as they meet the specific needs of Government
entities; that is, I respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). I began my
career as a programmer then moved into technical marketing, doing demos and
presentations to sell software (hence the "Sales Consultant" title). I moved
into this Tech Writer position 2 years ago. I am in no way affiliated with
Oracle's documentation department except to be a very customer of theirs. (I
read A LOT of docs!) I provide feedback to them, just like any customer (one
of the things I asked them years ago was to put a line in the ReportWriter
documentation that the product worked against an Oracle database).
Could I go back to doing the demos, etc? Sure. Would I want to? Not at all.
And the same might happen to you. Could you go back to "traditional tech
writing"? Sure. Will you want to? Who knows? Why should you care? You've
discovered that a "career" is a fluid thing. You make a certain number of
plans but stay open to new opportunities.
As a reader of Oracle's "knowledge base", I'd love to know that there was a
person behind them doing what you'd be doing! The engineers and support
analysts can write them then you can work your magic and make them better.
This job sounds like you can make it anything you'd like it to be. How often
does this kind of opportunity come around?!?
Allison Brochu Office: 301/657-7849
Sr. Sales Consultant Fax: 301/657-0973
Oracle Government E-mail: abrochu -at- us -dot- oracle -dot- com
WWW: http://govt.us.oracle.com
A Proposal is a Sales Call in Writing - C. Hooper
The statements and opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily
represent those of Oracle Corporation.
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