Today’s question to STC-Montreal is how does a person with expertise in other fields get started in technical communication?

Dear STC-Montreal,

Several years ago I graduated with a B.Eng. in Software Engineering, but never worked as a developer. In 2009, I earned a certificate in Print Communication from Concordia’s Continuing Education Department.

To spare you a long story, I want to work as a technical communicator. My problem is that I’m unsure on the best way to get started. I’ve read blog-posts on various sites about this topic, here included. What I’ve read daunts me: I fear that I may have underestimated what it will take to get a junior position as a TC. I assumed that I could start sending out resumes right away, but now it appears that if I want an HR person to even glance at my CV, I need 1) a certificate in technical communication 2) a solid portfolio and 3) a good handle of software packages like Framemaker and Robohelp, and 4) real-world experience. I don’t have any of this stuff.

So, I’m wondering whether I’m right to be nervous about my prospects. Must I have a certificate/portfolio/experience and software skills when I’m just starting out? Is my background any help at all? Are there things that I can learn later, but others I need to have and to know asap? How long does it normally take to get those essentials so I can successfully apply for positions?

I know it might sound like I’m looking for shortcuts. I’m not – I just don’t know anybody in the field so I lack the knowledge that’s truly required to become a technical communicator and to set my expectations accordingly for this vocation.

I’m grateful for any advice on how to start out. Personal stories are welcome too.

— Alex

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We have two questions for STC-Montreal today: The first is about writing grant proposals; the second is about finding an expert in embedded indexing.

Question 1

I was wondering if anyone has experience writing grant proposals, and if so, if they can recommend a source to get information on how to write them?

— Andy Hayward

Question 2

The Indexing Society of Canada is looking for someone experienced in embedded indexing to give a presentation/mini-workshop at its annual conference in Montreal at the end of May. Anyone interested should contact the chair of the conference organizing committee at cmjacobs [at] johnabbott [dot] qc [dot] ca.

— Christine Jacobs (Chair, ISC 2010 Organizing Committee)

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about choosing the right tool for high-end publishing work.

Dear STC-Montreal,

Is anyone using Author-it in their company for single-source authoring and multi-channel publishing? If you are, would you recommend it for complex technical documentation, or have you encountered any problems or limitations?

Your comments and observations would be greatly appreciated.

M in Montreal

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about technical writing, Information architecture, and jobs in Montreal.

Dear STC-Montreal,

A while back I attended STC’s Intro to Tech Writing evening to learn more about a career in this area. Someone suggested to me that since I lacked a technical background (I have a B.A. in History) my best chances for entering the field would be in finding work writing education/training documentation or SOPs etc.

A few years later, I have some experience in communications writing (mainly for the Web), experience using CMS and have participated in website development projects, on the content side of things. As a result I’ve become quite curious about Information Architecture as a niche of tech communications that holds strong appeal. And, with an eye to pursuing a career in tech writing, I’ve tasked myself with writing instructions for new staff around specific procedures, another useful addition to my CV.

I was hoping someone would be able to answer some specific questions, based on my above-noted interests, skill set and my experiences:

• I may be moving back to Montreal in January and want to know of any specific companies where I’d have the best chance of success in targeting for entry-level work?
• Are there any upcoming networking events for folks in the field that I might attend? (wasn’t able to make the STC wine and cheese unfortunately, but nice pics:)
• Do you know anyone working in the area of Information Architecture who I can contact for more info ?

Glad to know things are picking up Suzanne! Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

Thanks very much, S.

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is a simple and direct inquiry about Framemaker training.

Dear STC-Montreal,

Where in Montreal is FrameMaker training offered?

Thank you in advance!

— Elena Aschkenasi

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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

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about finding some training in technical writing.

Dear STC-Montreal,

I have started a new position which involves writing training software manuals.

I am looking for a writing course to improve my writing skills. It would need to be geared towards writing manuals.

I was told that my writing skills are too technical and I need to make my manual writing style more “user-friendly” and to be story-like.

Are they any courses that I could take to improve my writing skills?

Are there any courses or certificate programs that could be taken to become an official “Technical Writer”, preferably in the region of Montreal?

— Staying Positive in Montreal

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about upgrading RoboHelp.

Dear STC-Montreal,

I am upgrading Robohelp from version 5 to 8. Is it possible to upgrade my Robohelp 5 files directly to Robohelp 8 or do they have to be saved as Robohelp 7 first (I also have Robohelp 7, but I’m hoping to skip a step if possible)? We had originally tried upgrading our Robohelp 5 files to 7, but had problems with pages being blank so we avoided the problem by sticking with version 5. However, now we may not have an alternative but to upgrade to version 8.

— Suzanne Gerrior

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about how improving one’s skills quickly in tough times.

Dear STC-Montreal,

I’m worried about the usefulness of my current skill set.

I’m not certain my current job will last, and I probably should think about extending my skill set. Or rather, I should have thought about it long before now. I’m comfortable with Word, FrameMaker and RoboHelp, but is that enough? What skills and tools would make me more marketable and attractive as an employee? XML and DITA? HTML and CSS? Marketing writing?

— Name withheld

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about how to price your freelance services.

Dear STC-Montreal,

I’m looking for feedback on pricing writing work in the international market.

For example, suppose my hourly rate contract work is $50 in US currency. A straight currency conversion puts that rate at $60 for the Canadian market and $67.50 for the Australian market.

Is this a realistic way to calculate my rate? What other factors affect pricing across borders?

— E.L. in New York

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about slimming down Word documents.

Dear STC-Montreal,

I have a large Word document that is almost 40 MB, and contains a large number of graphics (mostly screen shots). Many of the graphics were added by people other than me, and I need to bring the file size down.

Is there a Word utility (or a procedure) that can tell me how “heavy” each graphic in the document is — so I can switch some of them to a smaller format (like .gif) and reduce the overall file size?

— PG

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Today’s question to STC-Montreal is about instructing people how to take things apart safely.

Dear STC-Montreal,

My client has asked me to put together some disassembly documentation for their hardware. It seems that the recycling laws in Europe require that clear disassembly instructions be included so that the devices can be safely disposed of.

I’ve never written this type of documentation before, so I’m not sure what to include. At face value, it sounds like you just take the hardware guide and go in reverse (which is what my client half-suggested), but off the top of my head I can think of a few other issues that would need to be covered, such as:

• How to safely take a device apart (without a sledgehammer)
• Identifying what is recyclable and what is not
• How to dispose of toxic materials (like batteries)
• What can be returned to the manufacturer
• What can be re-used or re-purposed

Does anyone have any guidelines or any examples on the web that I can
look at to guide me through these unfamiliar waters?

— John David Hickey

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