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Subject:RE: Curious about what you do From:"Rob Partridge" <rob -at- holly -dot- com -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 18 Feb 2003 09:17:22 +1100
Hi Barbara,
> I have a question. From reading your posts I gather
> that most of you document software. Is this correct?
Currently I document speech recognition software and
user-ware (quick ref guides for phone users). However,
my first gig some 12 years ago was documenting toasters
tvs, videos, microwaves, etc.
It was a fun job, but stressful. Typically writing for
up to 30 products at any one time. The company I worked
for was on the cheap end of the scale, so it was a
question of rebadging an Asian import, safety testing
and writing a quick instruction guide for it. Very quick
turnaround.
I got the job from an ad in my local paper of all places.
That's the only time I've got a job through a local
want ad. It was fun to be able to learn on the job like
that. I'd suggest your first port of call is looking
at instruction books for your own appliances. You could
try correcting some and mailing them to the manufacturer.
If the company is small, they may not have an in-house
writer, and may not have seen the need for one. You
could convince them otherwise.
And for information, a toaster instruction book is five
parts warnings and safety guidelines to one part
user instructions.
Feel free to contact me for more information. And good
luck!
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