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Entries Tagged as 'Career'

12 Steps To Getting Started as a Business Consultant

January 26th, 2010 · View Comments · Business Model, Career, Strategy

Most people think it’s difficult start a career as a business consultant. I used to think the same in my early 20s when I started in IT. In retrospect, I should have made more efforts to establish myself as a consultant earlier; the benefits certainly outweigh the downsides. As luck would have it, I was forced into a consultancy role when I lost my 9-5 job. Time to learn to hustling and bring in business.

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5 Ways to Differentiate Yourself & Generate New Income Streams

January 13th, 2010 · View Comments · Career, China, How To

Tom Peters says, “the value of services will continue to fall” and that the only way to survive is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Is this true? How do you as a technical writer make yourself stand out from the crowd? If you don’t, what impact could this have on your [...]

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10 Best Mistakes I Made in 2009

November 22nd, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, Technical Writing

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. If you don’t know your mistakes you’re going to repeat them. Here’s my best mistakes.

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How do you measure technical documents? What metrics do you use?

November 21st, 2009 · View Comments · Career

One of our tech docs team was fired yesterday. Why? Technical documents provide no value.
This is how Management sees it.

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Are technical documents a waste of time?

November 20th, 2009 · View Comments · Career, Technical Writing

“Don’t worry” she said. “No one reads this stuff anyway. Just get it done.” Sounds familiar?

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How Outsourcing Can Boost Your Tech Writing Career

November 16th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, Tips

Image by Ivan Walsh via Flickr

Most technical writers see outsourcing as a real threat. But, if you look at it from another angle, it’s one huge business opportunity.

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How to Study Technical Writing Online & Get Certified

November 10th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, How To, Technical Writing

The University of Limerick, Ireland offers an excellent online course for those who want to study technical writing at home.
This university has a pretty amazing campus, specializes in the Arts and provides a conveyor belt of freshly-minted technical writers to Microsoft, Google and IBM in Ireland. It’s one of the few universities in Europe with [...]

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How Tai Chi Can Make You a Better Technical Writer

November 8th, 2009 · View Comments · Career, How To, Productivity

Does technical writing give you a headache?
I spend 10 hours a day working on user guides, online help and other such delights. One of the hazards of working these long hours is migraine, back pain and literally a pain in the neck.
So, what’s this got to do with Tai Chi?

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5 Reasons Why Women Are Better Technical Writers Than Men?

November 7th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, How To

Technical Writing attracts women. They’re very good at it and make great team leads.
Maybe I’ve been very lucky but I believe women are far better as technical writers than men.
Here are five areas where I think they have the edge of the guys.
1. Communication
When in entered technical writing, I assumed my days would be spent [...]

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Is this true? The goal of a project is to make the user successful!

November 6th, 2009 · View Comments · Career, How To, Productivity

Ben says: “The goal of a project is to make the user successful at what he wants to accomplish. Go ahead, read that previous sentence a few times. It’s one that would do well to sink in.”
Is this true?

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Is a Degree In Technical Writing Worth The Effort?

November 5th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, Google, How To, India

Do you have a degree in technical writing or technical communications? Was it worth the money? If you had a second chance, would you have chosen this or opted for another career path?
One of my younger cousins has started her degree in university in Limerick, Ireland. Not the place most of us think of as [...]

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What’s the Highest Daily Rate You Can Get as a Technical Writer?

November 5th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career

Knowledge is power. Knowing the daily rates of others in your industry helps you negotiate fees and get a better deal.
I’ve worked in the US, UK and now here in Asia and have seen a vast difference in the rates that writers work for.
Some of my friends in India work for $15 per hour, which [...]

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3 Ways to Turn Outsourcing to Your Advantage & Travel the World

October 26th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, How To, India

Image Chris Pirillo

Outsourcing is not going to go away. Our recent Technical Writers survey showed that US companies are now outsourcing technical documentation projects big-time to India, Poland and Portugal. This is not going to change. It’s just a business decision.
Feeling bad/sad/mad about it won’t change it.
But what you can do is make it [...]

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Why the STC offers Technical Writers Value for Money!

October 20th, 2009 · View Comments · Career

Image via Wikipedia

The STC recently increased its annual subscription rates to over $200 prompting howls of protest for technical writers.
In response to this, it has come out and defended its position by justifying the price increases. Here’s my take on the key points.

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Stop Blogging! What happens if you start to make money?

October 20th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, Google

Does writing a blog constitute work? Forbes reports that the New York State Department of Labor recently declared a laid-off attorney ineligible for unemployment benefits as she was bringing in $1.30 a day from blog ads.

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