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Subject:Is TW Still Hospitable to Novices? A Dilemma From:"Peter Shea (USF)" <pshea2 -at- luna -dot- cas -dot- usf -dot- edu> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sat, 27 Jan 2001 01:02:11 -0500 (EST)
A friend of mine, having heard & read many testimonials about people like
himself (computer literate with liberal arts background) breaking into
tech writing, was inspired to take a run at becoming a T-Writer.
He done writing in his past (real estate appraisals, Italian to English
translations) and had begun boning up on useful programs like RoboHelp and
Dreamweaver. But whenever he applied for a job, the HR people would ask if
he had "worked on a network" or spent at least two years working for
another company.
Sometimes they offered friendly advice. One would say get an IT
degree; another would suggest a tech writer's certification program. My
friend knew he could pursue one or the other, but had neither the time or
resources for both. And, unfortunately, it was never clear which would be
more useful.
Inevitably, he grew discouraged and wondered if the inspiring stories he
had heard about people falling sideways in the TW field from other
professions were exaggerated, or whether the profession had changed to
such a degree that only programmers or MIS graduates could reasonably
expect tech writing work.
My friend is smart, hard-working, and discouraged.
What would any here say to such a person?
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