Re: career path in the third and fourth decades?

[Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca>]

Monica wondered what techwriters in their 3rd or 4th decade of the 
profession do to continue to make it interesting and profitable. I 
hadn't really considered that meaning of "senior" techwriter before! 
After being at this for more than 2 decades now, I have moved into 
education, passing along whatever I can to the next generation of 
technical communicators. That's not a route you take for the money, but 
for the chance to "give back".

To get income increases, I've branched out into consulting. Having 
worked in a number of industries and seen best and worst practices, I 
have information to share with companies that want to avoid making 
certain mistakes. I can help businesses shorten the distance between 
conception and delivery of their products or services. I do more project 
management and less actual writing, contracting that out instead to 
other techwriters.

Some of us decide to specialize, in areas such as single-sourcing or 
online help, achieving guru-status in those disciplines. And there's 
nothing to say you can't career change into a related area, or something 
else entirely.

That's one of the great things about this skill set that we develop -- 
there are many ways to utilize it, and live your dreams as well.
--Beth

--
Beth Agnew
Professor, Technical Communication
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133
http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u

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