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 [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Technical Writing'
Is a Degree In Technical Writing Worth The Effort?
November 5th, 2009 · Comments Off · Career, Google, How To, India
Tags:Asia·Business·Career·Course·Degree·distance learning course·education·google·ibm·India·Ireland·Limerick·microsoft·Online Techical Writing Course·Technical Writing
Technical Writing News – Nov 6th
November 5th, 2009 · Comments Off · Reviews
New technical writing screencasts, Madcap win an award, and the Intercom editorial calendar is finally announced. What more could you want?
Here is a quick roundup of this week’s technical writing news.
Tags:Adobe Framemaker·Betsy Weber·Business·Business Services·Camtasia·Cherryleaf·Communications·Contracting·contracts·Freelancing·Intercom·israel·Jobs·MadCap·MadCap Software·Open Source·OpenSource·Screencasts·Seneca College·Snagit·STC·Symposium·Tasks·tech writing·Technical Authors·Technical Writing·Techsmith·Website·Writing and Editing
Robohelp or Doc-to-Help – which one do you recommend?
November 2nd, 2009 · View Comments · Reviews
I have a choice. Robohelp or Doc-to-Help? My client has given me permission to use whatever tool I want to do the next batch of tech docs — and they’ll buy the software. No cost to me. Which one should I choose?
Tags:Adobe RoboHelp·Business Services·Communications·Component 1·Doc-to-Help·Help Authoring Tool·MadCap Flare·Microsoft Word·Price·Product Comparision·Review·Robohelp·Technical·Technical Communication Suite·Technical Writing·Techsmith·user interface
STC Increase Fees: Is the STC still value for money?
October 21st, 2009 · Comments Off · Technical Writing
Sarah O’Keefe (Scriptorium) discusses STC’s new dues structure: Dues are going up; Printed publications are no longer included in basic dues; No chapter or SIG membership are included in the basic dues.
She adds that while reaction is largely negative, she finds value from her STC membership and gives some examples and reasons to join/stay with [...]
Tags:Bill Swallow·Career·fees·ibm·India·Linkedin·Outsourcing·Sarah O'Keefe·Scriptorium·SIG·Society of Technical Communications·STC·STC membership·Technical Writing·Tom Johnson·value for money·Writers Resources
Should I Join the STC? Is it Worth the Money?
October 14th, 2009 · Comments Off · Technical Writing
Ben Minson makes some interesting points about the role of the STC (Society for Technical Communication) and the value it offers to its members.
As an ‘outsider’ looking in, I have to confess to finding the STC a rather odd organization. A longer post is probably in order to discuss this.
Tags:Chapters·Employment·fees·Michael Hughes·Organization·social media·Society for Technical Communication·Technical Writing·Writers Resources
Can I get a job as a Technical Writer without a Degree?
October 9th, 2009 · View Comments · Career, How To, Technical Writing
I got this email during the week. There are quite a few things to address here but the bottom line is, as is mentioned below, is it worth the time and money to take college technical writing courses?
“I’ve been reading articles about Technical Writing and I’m thinking about a change in career. I’ve worked as [...]
Tags:Adobe Captivate·Adobe Framemaker·Adobe FrameMaker·Adobe Technical Communication Suite·Business·Computer programming·DITA Open Toolkit·ibm·Long Documents·Robohelp·Technical·technical communicators·Technical documentation·technical writer·Technical Writing
Audience Analysis: Power Tools for Technical Writing
October 5th, 2009 · View Comments · Technical Writing
When discussing Audience Analysis, David McMurray points out that, “for most technical writers, this is the most important consideration in planning, writing, and reviewing a document. You “adapt” your writing to meet the needs, interests, and background of the readers who will be reading your writing.
Tags:acronym·action stage·Analysis·Audience Analysis·Audience types·Customization·David McMurray·Demographics·development stage·disaster recovery·Environment·Exercises·Expectations·Interest·interests·lifecycle·Needs·needs analysis·Online·Online Writing Lab·PDA·planning·Print·reading stage·reviewing·Technical Documents·Technical Writers·Technical Writing·Understanding·user-centered communication·Users·Wikihow·writing
How to Get Out of Technical Writing and into Better Paid Jobs
October 5th, 2009 · View Comments · Career, India
Many IT professionals, technical writers included, have seen their salaries frozen or reduced over the past 18 months. Contractors are suffering the same fate as short-term projects dry up.
However, several of my colleagues have managed to move out of technical writing and into other, better paid lines of work. Here’s a roundup.
Tags:Adobe·Career·CMS·content management·India·Information Architecture·Jobs·microsoft·Non-governmental organization·Site Management·Technical Writing·trends·web 2.0·Web content
How To Mind Your Grammar On The Web
October 3rd, 2009 · Comments Off · Technical Writing
Ben Parr (Mashable) asks: “Say your project manager comes to you with his proposal that will be going out to investors, business partners, and potential clients.
Then you find that your manager has used “4” instead of “four”, “r” instead of “are”, and abbreviations such as lol, atm, and idk.
How would you react? “
Tags:Arts·Business·business writing·Facebook·Grammar·guidelines·Jargon·Mashable·Social network·Style Guide·Technical·Technical Writing·TLA·Twitter·writing
What kind to Technical Documents should I write for Java projects?
June 25th, 2009 · Comments Off · Technical Writing
What kind to technical documents should I write for Java project?
Tags:Banks·Dita·India·Java·Jobs·Technical Writing·trends·wikipedia·XML
Vacancy – Senior Technical Writer for Server Products
June 25th, 2009 · Comments Off · How To
Vacancy – Senior Technical Writer for Server Products
Snagit Tip – How to create a Mirror edge at the bottom of your screenshots
June 23rd, 2009 · View Comments · Technical Writing
Snagit Tip – How to create a Mirror edge at the bottom of your screenshots
Tags:Dita·graphics·India·Jobs·Screenshot·Snagit·Technical Writing·Techsmith·trends·wikipedia·XML
How to Improve your Style Guide
June 22nd, 2009 · Comments Off · How To
How to Improve your Style Guide. PerfectIt does not require any kind of configuration. Once you install it, you can use it straight away to find mistakes in any MS Word document. This article is for users who want to get even more out of PerfectIt by fine-tuning it to search for particular errors or to enforce a style guide.
Tags:Camtasia·checklist·download·flash·Flickr·form·Jing·MPEG-4·Screenshots·Snagit·Style Guide·Technical Writing·Techsmith·template·Vimeo·writing·YouTube
What type of skills do Technical Writers need?
June 15th, 2009 · View Comments · How To
What type of skills do Technical Writers need? Technical writers often have a degree in English, technical writing, the technical field for which they are writing, or a combination of these.
Tags:Adobe Captivate·Adobe Framemaker·Adobe FrameMaker·Adobe Technical Communication Suite·Career·DITA Open Toolkit·Long Documents·Robohelp·salary·technical communicators·Technical documentation·Technical Writing·Templates·Training Plan·user guide·whitesmoke·writing software
5 Tips on How to Make a Cold Call and Survive!
June 15th, 2009 · Comments Off · How To
5 Tips on How to Make a Cold Call and Survive!
Tags:Adobe Framemaker·Career·cv·tech docs·Technical Writing·whitesmoke·writing software
