Andy, As some others have said, focus on the task rather than the tools. Having zero FM experience didn't seem to hurt me when I was looking for a job 5 years ago, I was able to convince the interviewers that I could learn any tool they wanted me to use.
Lack of programming experience, however, did close quite a few positions. They all wanted technical writers with recent experience in a currently used programming language. 20 year-old memories of college Fortran didn't help much. If you can code as well as write, be sure to mention it. Clint -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] om]On Behalf Of Andy Kelsall Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 7:40 AM To: Framers@frameusers.com Subject: Career advice--which application to focus on: FM or Word? Hello everyone, I would like some advice from anyone who has worked in the technical writing field for more than 3 years. My question is this: If you knew someone who was looking to enter the technical writing field at this time, would you advise them to seek out positions where they would be using FrameMaker, or would you tell them not to worry so much on which application would be used, but instead focus on the position and the work itself? The reason I ask is that on various listservs I subscribe to, it seems that most people are big FM advocates and are not too fond of Word. I've spent the last month trying to learn the basics of FM, and I can see why people choose FM over Word when it comes to serious technical writing. Granted, there is a steep learning curve, but it *is* a lot more versatile than Word. I'm moving away from a 17 year career as a technician and engineer in the telecom field and I want to make sure my first step into technical writing isn't a misstep. As a quick note, I have given the career change quite a bit of thought, and went as far as completing a technical writing program at Duke. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks, Andy _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/clint.owen%40craneaerosp ace.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. ###################################################################### Attention: The information contained in this email message may be privileged and is confidential information intended only for the use of the recipient, or any employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient. Any unauthorized use, distribution or copying of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the original message and all attachments from your electronic files. This email was scanned and cleared by MailMarshal. ###################################################################### _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
