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Re: Younger tech writers?

Subject: Re: Younger tech writers?
From: "Sara Pauley" <rattlingpoetry -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:09:21 -0500

I did that -- sort of. I graduated with an English degree and took a course
after graduation on software documentation. The technical writing class I'd
been required to take as undergrad focused primarily on business
ommunication and to be honest I didn't even know what a technical writer was
until long after I graduated. I decided to pursue a master's degree in
English with an emphasis in technical writing. As luck would have it I
didn't get into a doctoral program. I searched high and low for a technical
writing job after finishing up my master's degree and had little luck, but
with the experience I gained in grad school I was able to make the
transition into marcom and have done that inthe professional services realm
(i.e. law firm marketing).

I'm on the list now because I'm also adjunct faculty at a local university
where I teach technical communication online. So I guess technically I'm not
a technical writer, but I do turn 30 this year. :)


On 1/24/07, Brasel, Russell <russell -dot- brasel -at- hccredit -dot- com> wrote:


There are some of us out there! And some of us, after finishing our
Master's degrees in English, realized that a PhD meant more student loan
debt, more academic papers that would end up in .pdf oblivion on JStor
(if we were lucky), and actually having to dust off the copy of
Finnegans Wake and finish the thing.

In other words, I didn't expect to become a Technical Writer, but I
walked into a placement agency with my resume, which listed my computer
experience (10+ years), and they matched me with my current employer.
The same thing happened to a fellow graduate student, as well-she became
a web editor for a publishing company on the East Coast. (And she may
be lurking on this list-hello, Danika, if you're out there.)

Given that I'm making more than most beginning associate English
professors and that my job is challenging and interesting, I have
eschewed the life of academia. I'd much rather learn XML than have to
wade through Derrida and Joyce to write a paper few will read. I expect
there are a lot of MA graduates my age or close who discovered Technical
Writing is an attractive alternative to teaching Freshman comp and
Norton-based literature surveys.

Russell Brasel
Technical Writer
Dent-A-Med, Inc. d/b/a The HELPCard
russell -dot- brasel -at- hccredit -dot- com


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Re: Younger tech writers?: From: Brasel, Russell

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