The passionate tech writers will always stand a better chance. Today that means not only having the resume and the samples, but also doing things like blogging.

I was reading Seth Godin yesterday. He was looking for interns to work with him for the summer; prestigious gig and great learning opportunity for college graduates.

What he noticed in the CVs was how little effort was spend in selling themselves. Most just said, here’s my
CV. Take a look…

And these are from people with degrees in marketing and business dev etc — you’d think they’d know how to sell themselves.

Maybe they don’t see it that way.

The thing is —going back to your point— technical writers also need to get with the program and look for ways to find work, raise their profile (i.e. stop whinging that no-one loves them) and see how they can market themselves.

Why not?

We go to work to make money; what’s the problem with that?

Isn’t it also strange the people who make a living from writing don’t capitalize on these skills to advance their careers? This has always amazed me.

Many moons ago when head of a technical writing dept, I’d get CVs and cold calls from technical writer looking for work. At one point, I ended up ‘coaching’ the applicant on how to structure his CV, write a cover letter and follow-up. The basics of finding work, really!

Will pop over to your site now.

From a freezing cold Beijing (-7 and going down),

Ivan

Good post. Is a degree or a certificate in technical writing essential? I don't think so. But I'm sure it doesn't hurt. That said, I've never found it to be essential. I'm pretty much a street-trained tech writer and I've done quite well over the years. I think what will really help you succeed in this wacky profession is a combination of writing skills, technical skills, the ability to learn quickly, and overall enthusiasm. Sometimes I've found the latter to be missing/lacking in some tech writers.

Some similar thoughts to yours here: http://www.dmncommunications.com/weblog/?p=682

The passionate tech writers will always stand a better chance. Today that means not only having the resume and the samples, but also doing things like blogging.

I was reading Seth Godin yesterday. He was looking for interns to work with him for the summer; prestigious gig and great learning opportunity for college graduates.

What he noticed in the CVs was how little effort was spend in selling themselves. Most just said, here’s my
CV. Take a look…

And these are from people with degrees in marketing and business dev etc — you’d think they’d know how to sell themselves.

Maybe they don’t see it that way.

The thing is —going back to your point— technical writers also need to get with the program and look for ways to find work, raise their profile (i.e. stop whinging that no-one loves them) and see how they can market themselves.

Why not?

We go to work to make money; what’s the problem with that?

Isn’t it also strange the people who make a living from writing don’t capitalize on these skills to advance their careers? This has always amazed me.

Many moons ago when head of a technical writing dept, I’d get CVs and cold calls from technical writer looking for work. At one point, I ended up ‘coaching’ the applicant on how to structure his CV, write a cover letter and follow-up. The basics of finding work, really!

Will pop over to your site now.

From a freezing cold Beijing (-7 and going down),

Ivan

Good post. Is a degree or a certificate in technical writing essential? I don't think so. But I'm sure it doesn't hurt. That said, I've never found it to be essential. I'm pretty much a street-trained tech writer and I've done quite well over the years. I think what will really help you succeed in this wacky profession is a combination of writing skills, technical skills, the ability to learn quickly, and overall enthusiasm. Sometimes I've found the latter to be missing/lacking in some tech writers.

Some similar thoughts to yours here: http://www.dmncommunications.com/weblog/?p=682

Yes, this is it in a nutshell. Having a degree gets you in the door, but it’s what you do once you get inside that counts.

<Bottom line — getting in the door is key but never stop learning, hustling and producing.

A person I used to work with many years back so to me once: “are you here to be a great technical writer or a rich technical writer?”

Her point was that being the ‘best’ technical writer or whatever wasn’t going to get the raise, promotion or contract.

That’s down to how you market your own skills and, imho, how you look at your career through the eyes of a business person (who happens to be a technical writer) and not just a person who cranks out user guides.

FWIW – the most money I made in writing has been in writing business proposals. They roped me in as I knew how to gather information and assemble it.

Thanks again for dropping by.

Regards,

Ivan

Bottom line — getting in the door is key but never stop learning, hustling and producing.

Yes, this is it in a nutshell. Having a degree gets you in the door, but it’s what you do once you get inside that counts.

<Bottom line — getting in the door is key but never stop learning, hustling and producing.

A person I used to work with many years back so to me once: “are you here to be a great technical writer or a rich technical writer?”

Her point was that being the ‘best’ technical writer or whatever wasn’t going to get the raise, promotion or contract.

That’s down to how you market your own skills and, imho, how you look at your career through the eyes of a business person (who happens to be a technical writer) and not just a person who cranks out user guides.

FWIW – the most money I made in writing has been in writing business proposals. They roped me in as I knew how to gather information and assemble it.

Thanks again for dropping by.

Regards,

Ivan

Bottom line — getting in the door is key but never stop learning, hustling and producing.