How I got started

Subject: How I got started
From: Luigi Benetton <Luigi_Benetton -at- MARKHAM -dot- LONGVIEW -dot- CA>
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 10:17:35 -0400

After seeing so many posts on this topic, I thought I'd describe a REALLY
indirect route to the profession...

I finished high school and went to university, where I got a business
degree in four years and learned how to play squash. Keep the squash part
in mind...

After university, I spent a year as a volunteer in Ecuador. When I came
back, I worked and put some money away for a year so I could spend a year
and a half in Quebec City to learn French. I returned to Toronto with four
languages under my belt (Italian, English, Spanish, and French) and worked
as an administrative assistant where, among other duties, I took FOREVER
consolidating our division's quarterly financial results into spreadsheets
on a 386 with 4 MB of RAM. The really annoying thing is that I heard
(through the grapevine) that the people who got my reports took about ten
seconds to scan through what took me about ten days to prepare.

My interest in languages led me back to school to try to pursue a
translation degree. Since the only "degree" courses I could take after work
were in the elective field of technical writing, I started there. I also
joined a health club near work to indulge my need to play squash. After one
particular match, I chatted with my opponent and mentioned the technical
writing course I was taking. He said: "That's funny, we're looking for a
technical writer." I overlooked this at first, but he mentioned it again at
a later date, so I called the contact person at his company, interviewed,
and got the job. I'm still here today as an instructor and course design
specialist. This latter role involves preparing student handouts and
instructor notes based on course outlines, hence my continuing interest in
technical writing. I'll also eventually participate in the preparation of
CBT, although I don't yet have a clue where to start. (Any suggestions are
welcome.)

The really funny thing is the connection between this position and my
previous job. Do you remember how I said it took forever to consolidate
financial information on spreadsheets? My present company markets a
solution that multi-divisional companies use to reduce the time involved in
consolidating (and preparing) their financial information, so the employees
have more time to analyze it and make decisions. I also really like the
fact that I wear jeans or shorts every day (that I don't teach), instead of
a shirt and tie.

That's it. Thanks for your stories, everybody, and remember, no question is
too stupid. Other people's attitudes should never block your progress and
personal development.

Luigi Benetton


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