Dana now specializes in developing technical documentation for organizations who need a writer with a strong technical background and the ability to consult with highly technical subject matter experts.
Me: What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on?
Dana: One was developing training materials for a crane manufacturer. The other was developing an operations manual for a boiler room mechanical system. In both cases I got to interact with some heavy duty machinery. As a technical writer who has always worked in an office, the chance to get out into the “real world” and work in different settings has probably been the most exciting thing I’ve come across.
Me: If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started in the field, what advice would you give yourself?
Dana: Try to establish your niche and become known as an expert. There are so many forms of writing that it’s impossible to master each. The industry seems to look for specialists, so if your writing experience comes across as too general, it can be difficult for prospective employers (or clients) to find a good fit for your skills.
Me: What keeps you working in the field?
Dana: The work can be instantly satisfying. For example, when you transform some raw technical information into a formal document, the results are right in front of you. You can instantly see the results of editing, image manipulations, or reformatting. Your creativity results in something tangible that somebody will hopefully use.
In other technical occupations you don’t always get results instantly, so I think this makes technical writing unique.
Me: If you could stand up and tell the world one thing about the field, what would you say?
Dana: “Companies, invest in your documentation!” It never ceases to amaze me how many companies don’t value technical documentation or technical writers. As many of my peers will attest to, documentation is often one of the first things to cut during difficult financial times.
From a business perspective I could see why. Documentation costs money but doesn’t make money and the benefit it provides can be difficult to measure yet easy for management to dismiss.
Me: What hobbies do you have?
Dana: I’m a competitive badminton player as well as a hobbyist woodworker. Like technical writing, such activities are instantly gratifying at some level, especially when you’re playing your best game, or the project you’re building is fitting together as expected.
Me: Favorite quote?
Dana: At a company I worked for, we had “core values” developed by upper management. One read: “Live with the hot ones”. Nobody figured out what it meant, but I think of it often when networking and making new contacts.
