The most common questions I get on my blog are questions about finding jobs in technical writing. While looking for jobs the other month, I realized a few things that I haven’t actually recommended before. Here are a few notes from my recent job search: Large companies often select candidates to interview based on employee Continue Reading »
Big changes are in store for our family. We’re moving from Utah to California, and I’m starting a new job in Redwood City (which is in the San Francisco Bay area) at a company called Badgeville. Badgeville is one of the leading companies in gamification, which is the practice of incorporating game dynamics and techniques Continue Reading »
Through my blog, I receive a lot of questions from users. I’ve seen the same questions numerous times, so I’ve decided to compile a list of answers to those questions and add a link to them on my contact page. These are the 10 most frequently asked questions about technical writing: 1. What technical writing Continue Reading »
Technical communication professors often ask students to interview a professional technical writer to get a better sense of the field. The following responses are from Cheryl Landes, a professional technical and marketing communicator. Cheryl owns her own company, Tabby Cat Communications. The questions come from a student at Missouri State University. What preparation did you have for Continue Reading »
I received the following question from a reader. If you would like to respond, please add your response in the comments below. I’m a college senior graduating this May with my degree in Technical Communication. Do you have any tips for an aspiring content strategist? What skills or knowledge set would I need to have Continue Reading »
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Best Careers 2011: Technical Writer – US News and World Report. It doesn’t amaze me that technical writer is listed in the top 50 careers. Technical writer appeared as a top 50 career in 2006 and 2009 in CNN Money. Each year there’s a lot of controversy about the description, Continue Reading »
Download MP3 Length: 50 min. This is a presentation I gave at BYU Idaho last week to students interested in entering professional writing. For the accompanying slides, see this post. For the overall question I was trying to tackle, see Students Contemplate Whether a Technical Writing Career Will Be Fulfilling.
This week’s question comes from Mary in New York: I am a loyal reader of your blog and have gained more from it than all the seminars and continuing ed courses I’ve taken–which cost me a good chunk of my salary. Recently, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend which I hope you might consider blogging about. Continue Reading »
Recently a reader wrote me asking for advice on changing careers into technical writing. I asked for some colleagues to respond. Bill Albing, an information architect in North Carolina, and Alyssa Fox, a technical communications manager in Texas, responded to the question. With permission from Bill, Alyssa, and “Cedric” (the name I’ve given the reader), I posted Continue Reading »
I enjoyed David Farbey’s post on the name we should call our profession. Aligning our name with the most profitable business model makes sense. If you look at indeed.com for jobs as a “technical communicator,” you won’t find hardly any. Look for “technical writer” and you find a ton. So what is the benefit of Continue Reading »