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.
Steve,
You need to do some more research, because almost all of your statements
are wrong. Seek out the local STC (Society for Technical Communication)
chapter and find out the real story from them about salaries,
conract-vs-permanent work, jobs in your area, and so on.
To get a better idea of the real situation, I suggest you go read
everything on the TECHWR-L website and some of the sites it links to.
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/
It's much more important to know about planning, researching, and writing
of the content -- and enough about the subjects you're likely to be writing
about -- than it is to know how to use specific tools.
That said, knowing some common tools will certainly help. I've also got
some hints on my website for ways to get cheap (but legal) copies of
expensive programs to practice on.
One way that isn't mentioned in those hints is eBay, where you can
sometimes get legal copies of software for significantly reduced prices.
One tool that the majority of available techwriting jobs requires is
Microsoft Word. Learn it, and especially learn the tricky bits that apply
in techwriting situations, which are often different from general business
uses. (Besides, you'll need to know some of Word's quirks before you can
use RoboHelp effectively.) See sig for my book on the subject.
Good luck!
Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/
-----------------
Now available: Taming Microsoft Word, 100 pages of tips and tricks for
business and technical documents. For a contents list, downloading and
payment information, go to: http://www.jeanweber.com/books/tameword.htm
Still available: Editing Online Help, a tool-independent introduction to
planning, developing, and editing online help systems. For a table of
contents, go to: http://www.jeanweber.com/books/olhbk.htm
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