Articles
A Student's Interview on the Field of Technical Communication
27 February 2009
Destry Wion
Web Manager
STC France
It is not often I’m contacted by a student to respond to an informational interview, so it was a pleasure when I was contacted early last week by a student in Eugene, Oregon USA to see if I would respond to his by email, and some great questions he had too. With the student’s permission, I’m posting the interview here in the event his questions reflect those of other students, whether in France or anywhere else.
The student, we’ll call him NT, did not indicate what professional title his questions were in context to, whether mine or what he was specifically interested in (digital media design), so I responded in context of technical communication in general as it all seems aggregated that way.
NT: What are the most important personal satisfactions and dissatisfactions connected with this profession?
DW: Well, personal satisfactions and dis-satisfactions are just that, personal, so they are subjective to the individual. What might jive with me may not jive with the next person. Having said that, I have a short version and long version response for you.
Short version — I’ve always been someone equally fascinated with hard science and abstract creativity, and technical communication is a domain providing opportunity and overlap in both.
Long version — Human communication is an extraordinary process, influenced by an immeasurable number of factors. It is both synchronous and asynchronous. It manifests through various forms, travels various channels and is mediated through various technologies, or none at all. An interesting aspect about communicated messages, the information that travels from source to destination in the communication process, is they have a tendency to degrade quickly, often being received differently than how they were dispatched. Technical communicators understand this fact well. It’s their role to keep messages in tact, and message information delivered, so the overall communication process is successful. You can think of that as the science side of it, if you will, and there’s different fields of study within technical communication that tackle that side, such as human factors, usability, accessibility, internationalization/localization (the study of cultural influence on communication) and man-machine interaction to name a few. However, humans, like any form of life, respond to sensory stimulus, and even to multiple stimuli at the same time. Such stimulus is well known to influence emotions and thus various degrees of contentedness. This is where the creative side comes into things and technical communication encompasses many fields in this direction too, such as writing, graphic design, audio-video production and so forth. The pinnacle, for me, is that many of these fields of study overlap and as a technical communicator it’s often necessary to wear many hats, doing different objective and creative things in the course of your work. If you like using both halves of your brain, as it were, technical communication is very rewarding.
NT: What do you find are the most challenging aspects to the profession?
DW: There’s a couple of things I think all technical communication professionals would agree with.
First has to do with keeping up with a fast-changing industry. Because there is a great deal of overlap in the areas of focus, you have to continually step back and evaluate yourself for what you really are and where you want to go. Or even just to ensure you’re not lagging behind where you should be. I say that because it’s impossible to do and know everything. Technical communication covers a lot of ground. The label, “technical communication,” is even ambiguous to most people. Fundamentally speaking, technical communication professionals have a strong command of the written language, better than most (as the theory goes). For many people it stops right there; e.g., technical writers. Other fields require adding more layers of knowledge and experience, and as you start down one of those paths you begin to realize you’re getting this in the course of what your doing, and before you know it your calling your self a “user experience designer” because you have experience in information architecture, interaction design, marketing writing, user-centered design, or what have you. All these things are specific roles having specific responsibilities and making use of specific tools, but they also all fall under the umbrella of user experience, which is a relatively new label today and perhaps gone next year. It can be difficult to keep up with, and the fact technology and trends change quickly, requiring you to adapt with them, makes it even more so. But this is also why it’s exciting.
Second, and I alluded to this a bit above, few people in the world know what technical communication means, including business executives and even people who work in technical communication roles. Thus it’s always a pain to respond when someone inevitably asks “what’s technical communication?” Frankly, I think it’s a label that was pushed by academics but which never caught on in practice. It’s probably a good time to start talking about this field differently, or to just let the different roles speak for themselves instead of lumping them all under an ambiguous label. My own alma mater, the University of Washington, is even changing the name of there technical communication department from the Department of Technical Communication to the Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE). That may not be any clearer to most people, but it is more specific, and that’s important going forward, I think. It will certainly look better on a resume too.
NT: What is the best way to enter this profession?
DW: Based on my own experience and what I see happening now…
First, you have to love the internet, because this is the internet age, just getting started even, and everything you do will center around it in one way or another. Even better is to have your own place on the web to call home. So get yourself a laptop, internet connection, web site, and start consuming, playing and learning. Don’t be shy of the social media channels, but only bother with the ones you really find use with. Be open to learn from people online. There’s always someone else who knows a lot more than you do and is willing to share that information. Be careful, there are twist and turns on the internet.
Second, you’ve got to have some basics in place, and though you can self-learn from being a great web surfer, it’s equally important to have some schooling too. It’s arguable as to what level or degree. Probably the more the better, but this will depend on your situation. It’s safe to say you do not need a Doctorates degree if you don’t plan on teaching or doing research. A Masters degree is commonplace these days but certainly not a requirement. Employers, especially in Europe, are much more interested in what you can do (and sell yourself to do) than what books you read in school. Another great track to take is certification. Speaking in terms of Europe, again, certifications almost have more weight with employers than degrees as they are generally considered more focused. Certificates are also less expensive for the student and don’t take as long to complete, generally speaking.
Third, look for internship opportunities, especially during school. These are worth gold, because not only do you get the experience, but you get referrals and start your networking too. Sometimes companies will just hire you outright when graduating if they like the work you did during the internship. If you can’t find one or two internships to do, look for other ways to cut your teeth. One excellent way is to get involved with open source projects and volunteer your efforts, whether it’s writing, designing a logo, whatever. The more significant it is, the better it looks on the resume. Another good idea is to join professional organizations and volunteer your efforts there. For example, I’m a member of the STC and now volunteer Web Manager for the STC France Chapter. I’ve rebuilt the chapter’s web site and I’m developing a content strategy for moving it forward. That’s all something I can use in the Curriculum Vitae.
Finally, when it comes time to look for real work. Don’t rely on old-fashioned paper-pushing practices. This harks back to the first point. We’re in the digital age and there’s a new way of communicating with potential employers, via the web. Companies will even have specific online channels for first-contact communication. Both sides of the fence are doing research; you on them (critical) and they on you. Take advantage of social media channels. Don’t be afraid to use Twitter, for example, to follow and reply to dialog of a potential employer. That’s what Twitter is about and all the good folks understand that. LinkedIn is another good example in this situation. Here’s my profile, connect with me.
NT: How does a person progress in this field?
DW: The same basic work ethics apply here as anywhere: work hard, be productive and proactive, make sure colleagues and clients are happy, be fair to yourself, and don’t be afraid to take some risks.
Keep your skills sharp and learn new ones at any opportunity. This keeps you relevant and able to redefine yourself as processes and the market change. If you feel stymied in a job, maybe it’s time to move on at your own decision. Nobody wins if you show up for work and barely get through the day because you’re bored to tears. Always keep your sanity in mind.
Monitor the activities of professionals in your field. Attend conferences. Engage. Network. The second you become complacent is the second you find yourself wondering where everybody went.
NT: What were the keys to your career advancement?
DW: Honestly, I can’t say there were any keys, specifically, I simply did, more or less, as described two questions up and that seems to be working in many respects. But I’ll add here, again, take initiative! Don’t ever sit back and expect things to just happen. They probably won’t.
NT: What particular skills or talents are most essential to be effective in this profession?
DW: Again, you have to love the internet and not be afraid to dive into it. You have to have a knack for knowing who to follow and what to listen for. You have to be comfortable learning new things and learning them relatively quick. You need to be a people person (unless you’re programmer — joke) because it’s all about communication and impression, whether with your colleagues, peers or clients. When communicating online you have to have a thicker skin than what you might walk around with on the street, but common courtesy is still the norm. Don’t ever say or write anything online you wouldn’t want a current or potential employer reading, because they’ll be able to, and you should assume they will.
Outside of all that, you need to know the standard tools and protocols related to your specific discipline. You’ll get a head start on that from your web experiences and schooling, but remember it’s always evolving. There’s always a need to keep learning new things, and there’s many online resources you can use.
NT: What work-related values are strongest in this type of work (security, high income, variety, independence)?
DW: This is another highly subjective area. Let’s consider it from a slightly different angle. There’s three ways to be gainfully employed, and the way you might like to go about it depends on what’s important to you. The three ways are:
- Be a company employee.
- Run your own company.
- Work as a freelancer and bounce from contract to contract.
Nothing I say here should lead you to specifically make a choice, there’s too much to consider, but being employed by a company is probably the most risk-free situation. On the other hand, you are not your own boss and we can all relate with what that sometimes means. Freelancing can be lucrative, but like running your own business, the burden is on you to manage your financial and legal affairs. You also have to be highly motivated to run your own business; being a salesperson as much as anything else. If your not good at selling yourself, don’t start your own business. Some people work better alone, or in the field. Others need the social environment of an office where ideas are shared and you’re obligated to stay awake. If you’re easily distracted by sunny days and birds on a tree limb, you better opt for the office environment to keep your focus forward.
NT: What are the major frustrations of this job?
DW: As far as I’m concerned there are no major frustrations, unless you are between work and having a hard to getting through it, but that’s a frustration anybody can have in any field. Especially now. There are some minor frustrations, but they’re specific to the various types of jobs within technical communication and it would be hard to map them out here. In any case, these are not things you would concern yourself with in terms of making a career decision; they’re more like day-to-day (or project-to-project) peeves when things don’t go as planned. Everybody has them.
NT: How is the economy affecting this industry?
DW: Good question. It’s tough to respond to. Maybe even too early to respond to with any certainty. It’s affecting me, but my situation is a particular one. I’m a foreign national in France, living in a region not known for its opportunities in IT, etc. If you look at job boards like Authentic Jobs or 37Signals Job Board, things don’t look so bleak, but what you’ll see in those boards are jobs more oriented to web media design, and not totally reflective of the greater technical communication pie. This field, probably more than any other, also breaks down physical and geographic barriers; it’s not terribly difficult to find international telecommuting opportunities. They do exist, you just have to hunt them.
I would like to hear responses from other TC professionals on this question of economy. It’s a good one.
Another relevant link announcing poll results that suggest this industry (safely, IT) is not as impacted by the economic downturn as other industries are: Poll Results: How is the economy affecting your job security?
In response to the last question, I mentioned two job banks. There’s a few more that might be worth adding, one being specific to the France region, so all together then: 1) Emploi Alsacreations (job board for France), 2) Smashing Jobs (job board hosted by Smashing Magazine), 3) Authentic Jobs (very well-designed and successful job bank), 4) 37Signals Job Board (job board by the very popular 37Signals, creators of BaseCamp, among many other tools), and 5) Tech Cocktail Job Board (great board with a wider scope of tech comm offers).
These will cater less to technical writers, but very well to web professionals across the board.
Not liking to see my own comments, but here’s another great resource relevant to some of the questions, particularly skills and the impact of the economy: It Could Happen To You, Redux.
In that article, Maxwell talks about keeping yourself relevant by attending conferences, even if you have to pay for them, and don’t be afraid to “break the rules” AND use social media when looking for work. Both are points I touched upon in the interview response.
Destry Wion · 1 March 2009, 00:06
Just read this article tonight at A List Apart, Filling Your Dance Card in Hard Econonic Times, by Pepi Ronalds. Seems relevant to at least a couple of the interview questions.