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.
>If entry level writers tend to be recent college grads, where >do career changers fit in?
If my experience is any indication (and I had much less experience than
Anonymous), a (relatively) mature person should have no trouble changing
to a tech-writing career.
People with experience in the workplace have already demonstrated some
of the skills they need to fit in: things like organization, team-work
and self-discipline.
If they also have writing experience, they can rise quickly: if everyone
will excuse a little bragging, in 18 months, I've gone from unemployment
to hiring other writers.
As for the work that Anonymous doesn't have to show: it's never to late
to gather up some of it. Ask, and the worst the companies can do is turn
you down.
>
>I have been writing for years without the benefit of a techie title. My
>positions have all required various types of technical writing, but have not
>been *based* on writing. After following the entry level and degree threads
>I feel that I am bound to be looked upon with a jaundiced eye by hiring types.
>
>I have a snazzy portfolio, but it consists mostly of marketing/graphic
>design projects. I foolishly didn't keep copies of the "boring" things like
>software manuals that I updated and rewrote over the years. At the time it
>never occurred to me that I would someday make a living doing just that.
>
>I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who has decided to make a career of tech
>writing a bit later than the college years. Is there some way I get around
>being penalized for not having been able to know the future?
"Did you see him on the corner
& his lip would reach the pavement,
He's been hiding from his razor,
Is he not an awful sight?
In love he was the purest,
Now he's frightening our tourists
If he went and asked his father,
I'm sure he'd put him right."
- Andy M. Stewart, Take Her In Your Arms"
