Re: How to I get into this field?

["Chris Morton" <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Oh, and learn SnagIt from TechSmith. You'll want this for home even if you
never get into tech writing.

Word, SnagIt, RoboHelp, FrameMaker, Visio, PowerPoint, and to a lesser
degree, Excel and Adobe Acrobat.... all techwriter toolkit essentials.

(Well FM isn't *always*, but the sooner you get some FM knowledge, the
better off you'll be. Me, I'd prefer to be using Adobe InDesign, as FM is in
dire need of a rewrite since being acquired by Adobe. But FM has some
industrial-strength muscle that no other similar tool offers at this point.)

I'm also seeing a lot of requests for Adobe Captivate experience; this
should be really easy to pick up. And the W3 ORG <http://www.w3.org/> site
offers a plethora of free knowledge.

> Chris

On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 3:19 PM, Kerry Cort <kercort -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

>   Thanks a lot Chris, sounds like some real solid advice I can do
> something with.
>
> --- On *Mon, 10/13/08, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>* wrote:
>
> From: Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
> Subject: Re: How to I get into this field?
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Date: Monday, October 13, 2008, 9:48 AM
>
> I got my start writing business-related freebies for the local chamber of
> commerce magazine, and a bi-monthly magazine about business in Northern
> Lower Michigan. I then answered an ad lin a monthly CAD magazine; they were
> looking for writers. This could have easily have been a unsolicited inquiry,
> however. I was able to parlay these experiences into many more
> opportunities, the culmination of
>  which (from a prestige standpoint, anyway)
> was a 3-1/2 year stay at Hewlett-Packard.
>
> Incidentally, I have NO degree, though I had superior English teachers in
> both the elementary and secondary schools I attended. I do have some
> college, having taking a few computer and business administration courses.
> Continuing to take computer courses is always a good thing, whether it be at
> a community college, self-paced Adobe *Classroom in a Book* training, or
> whatever. The more you can list on your resume in the way of things like
> XML, HTML, J2EE, Flash, etc., the more you'll find coming your way.
>
> Join the Society of Technical Communications and use their job board. Get a
> LinkedIn profile with professional endorsements, diligently building and
> making use of your LinkedIn network to find gigs. And if not gigs, use it to
> locate recruiters in your area, then solicit those recruiters for gigs. Get
> hooked up with
>  Dice.com.
>
> Those are but a few ideas to get you started.
>
> > Chris
>
> On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 4:10 AM, Michael West <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com> wrote:
>
> > > I have a BA in English and would like to get into technical writing
> but
> > need to know
> > > what steps I should take.? What is required?
> >
> > You'll get plenty of good advice here.
> >
> > What is required, I think, is some interest in technical subjects along
> > with
> > a strong desire to help other people -- those who may not be so
> technically
> > inclined -- acquire skills and be productive using technology.
> >
> > Add to that a love of strong, clean, simple writing and illustration.
> >
> > The entry-level position is usually the hardest one to get. Don't
> expect it
> > to just fall into your lap. Do some technical writing projects on your own
> > to show a prospective employer that you
>  have the interest, the skills, and
> > a
> > mastery of the tools. The subject matter isn't terribly important;
> your
> > attention to detail and your ability to clarify the complex are what
> > matter.
> >
> > Best wishes.
> >
> > --
> > Mike West
> >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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>  content, PDF export, modular help.
> Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
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