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Subject:Re: tech writing for liberal artists From:"Kistler-Robinson, Judy" <jkistler -at- TRANE -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 13 Aug 1998 15:22:00 -0500
I agree with Jessica Weissman's post and not just because I also am a
proud graduate of St. John's College (Santa Fe campus). After nearly
two decades of being a translator/interpreter of technical information
for non-technical people in nearly every job I held, many of which
included writing/editing/page layout and design, I finally discovered
that what all these had in common could come under the title technical
writer. While writing/editing/DTP skills can be learned (I agree with
Eric Ray's recent post), my liberal arts education taught me to ask
intelligent questions, problem solve, and gave me a more-than-adequate
background in the sciences to understand enough to explain technical
subjects.
Two years ago, I entered a Master's program in Professional Writing at
Southwest Missouri State University, specializing in writing for the
computer industry. I did my job search over the internet last fall, and
am enjoying my position in the TwinCities. I have the opportunity to
write a variety of technical and marketing publications (both hardware
and software) and online help.
I'm not suggesting that a liberal arts education is all it takes to get
into technical writing, or become a good writer, but it doesn't hurt.
Judy Kistler-Robinson
jkistler -at- trane -dot- com
