Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 That is awesome news, Indyrose!So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to "translate" documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. Congratulations!! Donna To: exercisevideos Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PMSubject: Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 That is awesome news, Indyrose!So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to "translate" documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. Congratulations!! Donna To: exercisevideos Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PMSubject: Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 That is awesome news, Indyrose!So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to "translate" documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. Congratulations!! Donna To: exercisevideos Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PMSubject: Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Indy, CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's wonderful news!! I think I would enjoy being a technical writer, actually. $, That is awesome news, Indyrose!So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to " translate " documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. Congratulations!! Donna To: exercisevideos Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PMSubject: Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Indy, CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's wonderful news!! I think I would enjoy being a technical writer, actually. $, That is awesome news, Indyrose!So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to " translate " documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. Congratulations!! Donna To: exercisevideos Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PMSubject: Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 There are a couple of different routes. One is through a degree in English writing with a technical slant. Mine was through an engineering degree where I had to do all the write-ups in my division; I was the only engineer in the whole division that could put two sentences together coherently! Another route is through new types of " qualifying " schools -- short, intense training in technical writing, and you get a certificate. Sometimes you just hang out a shingle if you know what you are doing in the field. There are technical writing/illustrating guilds (www,stc.com) and such, that can probably tell you other routes, too. Like I said, I came up through the ranks as an engineer, first. I also had a second major in history, where I learned a lot of writing skills. Indyrose > > That is awesome news, Indyrose! > > So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a > technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to > " translate " documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. > > Congratulations!! > > Donna > > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PM > Subject: Great News!!! > >  > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my > last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my > former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly! > > Indyrose > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 There are a couple of different routes. One is through a degree in English writing with a technical slant. Mine was through an engineering degree where I had to do all the write-ups in my division; I was the only engineer in the whole division that could put two sentences together coherently! Another route is through new types of " qualifying " schools -- short, intense training in technical writing, and you get a certificate. Sometimes you just hang out a shingle if you know what you are doing in the field. There are technical writing/illustrating guilds (www,stc.com) and such, that can probably tell you other routes, too. Like I said, I came up through the ranks as an engineer, first. I also had a second major in history, where I learned a lot of writing skills. Indyrose > > That is awesome news, Indyrose! > > So - I have a question (and maybe can help, too). How does one become a > technical writer? I have no engineering background, but I often do have to > " translate " documents from tech speak to English as part of my job. > > Congratulations!! > > Donna > > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 5:10:59 PM > Subject: Great News!!! > >  > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my > last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my > former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly! > > Indyrose > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Mine was a totally different route. I was an English major with no technical slant at all. In fact, I have a secondary ed (grades 7-12) teaching certificate for English and Spanish and was considering just staying in college to study literature (when my parents pulled the plug on funding and I had to get a job because I couldn't afford grad school on my own). I met a guy at a wedding and I walked up to him & my boyfriend at the time havinga conversation. Then bf said to the guy, "If you're looking for a technical writer, you should talk to !" Next thing I know, he was offering me a job! I had 2 friends working for the company (including the groom) so I kind of knew what they were doing but hadn't done anything specifically like that before. I told him so and he said, "You can write and you can think, you can do this job." I ended up doing extremely well, which was actually to my surprise since I didn't consider myself a tech person at all. It was my first job out of college, besides a telemarketing temp job, and it just stuck. I learned a lot on the job but I definitely had the writing and analytical skills needed when I came into it too. I eventually became a technical editor and instructional systems designer, especially designing technical training programs and writing the training manuals, etc. needed. I had friends that got technical writing degrees in college too but at that time (1980s) there were very few programs for it. Great News!!!> > Â > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my > last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my > former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!> > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!> > Indyrose> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Mine was a totally different route. I was an English major with no technical slant at all. In fact, I have a secondary ed (grades 7-12) teaching certificate for English and Spanish and was considering just staying in college to study literature (when my parents pulled the plug on funding and I had to get a job because I couldn't afford grad school on my own). I met a guy at a wedding and I walked up to him & my boyfriend at the time havinga conversation. Then bf said to the guy, "If you're looking for a technical writer, you should talk to !" Next thing I know, he was offering me a job! I had 2 friends working for the company (including the groom) so I kind of knew what they were doing but hadn't done anything specifically like that before. I told him so and he said, "You can write and you can think, you can do this job." I ended up doing extremely well, which was actually to my surprise since I didn't consider myself a tech person at all. It was my first job out of college, besides a telemarketing temp job, and it just stuck. I learned a lot on the job but I definitely had the writing and analytical skills needed when I came into it too. I eventually became a technical editor and instructional systems designer, especially designing technical training programs and writing the training manuals, etc. needed. I had friends that got technical writing degrees in college too but at that time (1980s) there were very few programs for it. Great News!!!> > Â > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my > last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my > former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!> > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!> > Indyrose> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2011 Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 Mine was a totally different route. I was an English major with no technical slant at all. In fact, I have a secondary ed (grades 7-12) teaching certificate for English and Spanish and was considering just staying in college to study literature (when my parents pulled the plug on funding and I had to get a job because I couldn't afford grad school on my own). I met a guy at a wedding and I walked up to him & my boyfriend at the time havinga conversation. Then bf said to the guy, "If you're looking for a technical writer, you should talk to !" Next thing I know, he was offering me a job! I had 2 friends working for the company (including the groom) so I kind of knew what they were doing but hadn't done anything specifically like that before. I told him so and he said, "You can write and you can think, you can do this job." I ended up doing extremely well, which was actually to my surprise since I didn't consider myself a tech person at all. It was my first job out of college, besides a telemarketing temp job, and it just stuck. I learned a lot on the job but I definitely had the writing and analytical skills needed when I came into it too. I eventually became a technical editor and instructional systems designer, especially designing technical training programs and writing the training manuals, etc. needed. I had friends that got technical writing degrees in college too but at that time (1980s) there were very few programs for it. Great News!!!> > Â > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my > last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my > former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!> > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!> > Indyrose> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast alsoDiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PMSubject: Re: Great News!!! Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast alsoDiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PMSubject: Re: Great News!!! Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast alsoDiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PMSubject: Re: Great News!!! Congratulations!!! Great News!!! Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off!I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly!Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Thanks!DiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 11:03 AMSubject: Re: Great News!!! I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Thanks!DiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 11:03 AMSubject: Re: Great News!!! I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Thanks!DiTo: exercisevideos Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 11:03 AMSubject: Re: Great News!!! I'm sorry to hear that! It's not a nice feeling at all! I, too, hope he has a quick turnaround! Indyrose > > Congrats! My husband just got laid off so I'm hoping he can turn things around fast also > Di > > > > ________________________________ > > To: exercisevideos > Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:06 PM > Subject: Re: Great News!!! > > > Â > Congratulations!!! > Â > > Â > Great News!!! > > > >Â > >Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! > > > >I'm very happy to have bounced back so > quickly! > > > >Indyrose > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2011 Report Share Posted July 14, 2011 I can believe and congratulations!!!!Vennitta Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly! Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2011 Report Share Posted July 14, 2011 I can believe and congratulations!!!!Vennitta Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for laying me off! I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly! Indyrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2011 Report Share Posted July 14, 2011 This morning I got a call for another telephone interview! I'm not sure what to think, now. It hasn't been offered, but it would be a better position overall -- not a contract and back into engineering rather than just tech writing (engineering pays more). I won't turn down the " bird in the hand " but I think I would like this new one more! Dang, last time I was laid off it took 5 months to get a new job!! Indyrose > > > ** > > > > > > Woot! Woot! I got a job!! I can't believe it happened so fast. July 1st was > > my last day, and I start this new one on Monday. It's a 6-month contract > > with my former-employer's direct competitor. Ha! That's what they get for > > laying me off! > > > > I'm very happy to have bounced back so quickly! > > > > Indyrose > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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