The November meeting, which took place on Zoom, started with a round of introductions. Participants included a range of technical communicators working as part-time contractors, independent contractors, employees, and students.
We discussed our possible top five software applications for technical communication, but instead came up with a long list of useful software, including Word, RoboHelp, FrameMaker, Arbortext, MadCap Flare, Visio, Illustrator, InDesign, Snagit, Camtasia, XMetal, and Captivate — although you probably don’t need to know all of them. Depending on the job, one or two might be enough.
We discussed our favourite and least favourite parts of the job. Both were editing!
We heard some interesting stories about clients, and we agreed that the worst clients make the best anecdotes, which should always be kept anonymous.
We chatted about version control and a variety of possible tools and ways to accomplish this. GitHub was suggested as a tool, as were revision-history pages with dates and initials, document co-ordinators, and Google Docs.
One of the student members talked about taking a class on memes, which sparked an interesting conversation. Memes are often humorous and political, and there are a lot of grammar memes and memes about 2020.
Q: What do you call Santa’s helpers?
A: Subordinate Clauses
We talked about post-secondary students working from home during the pandemic. The benefits include less commuting, great discussion forums, and very responsive teachers. However, disadvantages include a lack of face-to-face interaction. Hybrid models of in-person and remote learning and working are coming.
We discussed advice for finding technical writing jobs and agreed that it is a broad field. Look for an area that interests you. Find a niche that you like and do what you love! You can move between niches, because technical writing is a transferable skill.
Volunteer to get experience — non-profit organizations are good for this. Also, networking can be very useful.
Government experience can lead to more government work. Technical writers who are also scientists used to be rare but it’s still considered to be a good combination.
The STC is looking for entries for its Alliance Competition. Did you or your company produce great instruction, information, user support, or promotional content for the web, mobile devices, or online or print publication in the past two years? You could be a winner! The competition, formerly known as the STC Publications Competition, is a great way to receive constructive feedback from experienced technical writing judges. Deadline for entries: January 15, 2021, 6:00 PM EDT.
The Tech Comm Café provides networking opportunities, job leads, answers to work-related dilemmas, and a burst of professional energy to keep you motivated. We discuss technical writing tools and techniques, career planning, portfolios, and anything else related to working as a technical communicator.
We welcome anyone who’s interested in technical communication — contractor, in-house, student, long-time tech writer, STC member, non-member, career-changer, or recruiter. We hope to see you at the next meeting!
Next Meeting: ONLINE on Wednesday, January 20, 2021
- Subscribe to receive email announcements of future meetings.
- If you plan to attend, please RSVP by 4 p.m. Wednesday, January 20, to receive login instructions.
Date: Wednesday, January 20
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.pm. Pacific Time
Location: Online via Zoom
Agenda
- Introductions. Take 60 seconds to introduce yourself, your background, current activities. A good chance to try out that new elevator speech.
- Announcements and job leads. If you know of an interesting event or a job opening, or you’re looking for work, share it with the group.
- Brainstorming Q&A. Ask about a work-related problem and discuss potential solutions.
- Networking. Chat with other technical writers and discuss your professional backgrounds, goals, questions, advice.
Alison is a biologist and grant writer, and runs Edwards Technical Writing. She prepares complex documents for businesses, non-profit organisations, and scientific organisations. She is the Student Outreach Coordinator for the STC Canada West Coast chapter.