Ask STC-Montreal: Relocating to Montreal
Ask Ars Communica | Posted June 9th, 2009
Got questions about technical communication? Ask the community of STC-Montreal. Send us your questions for publication. (Questions may be edited.)
Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about moving back to the city.
Dear STC-Montreal,
I have started a new position which involves writing training software manuals.
I am originally from the Montreal area, and have been working as a Technical Writer for the past 10 years. Due to personal circumstances, I am interested in returning home to Montreal, but am unfamiliar with the Montreal technical writing job market nowadays.
Specifically, I was hoping to find answers to the following questions:
- Are the jobs primarily contracts? If so, are they typically short-term or long-term contracts?
- How critical is written French for obtaining work? While my spoken French is okay, I have not used written French since CEGEP.
- What skills are in demand? I have mainly used FrameMaker, Acrobat, RoboHelp and Microsoft Office for my projects, and have worked in the financial, medical device, software, and telecommunications sectors.
Any information would be most appreciated.
— Andrea
Join the discussion. Leave your ideas and suggestions for Andrea in the comments below.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Posted by Patricia Boyle.
I am afraid that you have chosen a bad time to return to Montreal and look for a technical writer position. The jobs are few and far between.
July 5th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Posted by Andy Gural.
Whether jobs are full-time, part-time or contract ends up being self-selecting. The jobs you are not interested in committing to will weed themselves out.
As far as French goes, if you are not a bilingual writer, and most people are not, be clear about it. In my particular case, almost all of my team of developers are Francophone but, as we make software for the US market, the docs have to be in US English.
This is the case with many workplaces in Montreal, I am sure.
As far as software skills go, FrameMaker, Robo and MS-Office are the unholy trinity that will always be in demand. However, I personally prefer InDesign to FrameMaker.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Posted by Suzanne Gerrior.
Actually, now would be an excellent time to return to Montreal. The Job Bank has certainly picked up and in my experience it is only reflective of a small part of the technical writing market as a whole.
Suzanne Gerrior
STC Montreal Job Bank Coordinator