alternate_career_paths.pdf

7/29/2019 Alternate_Career_Paths.pdf

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Alternate Career Paths forTechnical Communicators

By Jack Molisani

President, ProSpring Technical Staffing

Executive Director, The LavaCon Conference


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About the SpeakerAbout the Speaker

z Associate Fellow, STCz President, ProSpring Technical Staffing

z

Executive Director,The LavaCon Conference


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Warnings and DisclaimersWarnings and Disclaimers

z Group Participationz I am not a Professional Statistician

z

Speaking in Hypertextz Chinese Artists

z Controversy!


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Career Path #1Career Path #1

z Other Professionz Technical Writer

z

Sr. Technical Writerz Documentation Manager (maybe)


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z

Sr. Technical Writer / Doc. Managerz Contractor Technical Writer

z Technical Writing Business Owner


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z

Other Profession(This time in a related field.)


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Related FieldsRelated Fields

z New field is related to technical writingz Uses the same core competencies

z

You take a specific task of technicalwriting and specialize in it

z Identified not as a tech writer

but as a _________


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Core CompetenciesCore Competencies

z

Written Communication Skillsz Interview Skills

z Project Planning and Project Management

z Critical Thinking Skills

z Conflict Resolution

z User Advocacyz Quality Control


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MarketingProduct Management

Project Management

Proposal Management

Quality AssuranceRelease Management

Training

Usability

User Interface DesignWebsite Development

Other

AccessibilityBusiness/Software Analysis

Change Management

Coding/Programming

ComplianceContent Management

Corporate Communication

Documentation Management

Graphic Design/IllustrationID/Courseware Development

Localization / Internationalization

Related FieldsRelated Fields


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Corporate ValueCorporate Value

z

My premise: Related fields are morevalued by management

z and thus receive better compensation.

z Why? Because they are perceivedtoadd value, reduce costs or generaterevenue.


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Corporate ValueCorporate Value

z

Or: Because they are perceived to addmorevalue, reduce morecosts or generatemorerevenue then technical writers do.

z Exceptions: Illustrators and QA/Testers


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The SurveyThe Survey

z

I created a web-based survey that askedabout transitioning from technical writinginto related fields

z Presented a predefined list, but alsoprompted for other answers

z Also asked about compensation

z Included TWs who havent transitioned toget a compensation baseline


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z

351 self-selecting responsesz Compensation answers were given in both

hourly rates and annual salaries, so we

annualized the hourly rate by multiplyingthe by 2,080 hours.

z Note that this affects the true average

annual compensation since not allcontractors bill 2,080 hours a year


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z

and some fields are more consultingoriented than others.

z But since we did the same annualization

across all answers, the survey shouldpresent relative differences betweentechnical writing and other fields.

z (Remember that this is an informal surveywith a limited self-selecting audience.)


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Other DisclaimersOther Disclaimers

z I reassigned some other responses that werevery close (or actually on) the predefined list tomake tabulation easier.

z We limited respondents to choose only one field for

the same reason.

z I did not include fields with fewer than three votesor answers that didnt make sense (such as one

person who gave a salary but whose field wasUnemployed.)

z When given a range of compensation, we used theaverage. (Foreign currencies were converted.)


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Yes, 79%

No, 21%

Have You Transitioned from TW?Have You Transitioned from TW?


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Into What Alternate Career FieldInto What Alternate Career Field

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Accessib

ility

Busin

ess/S

oftwa

reAnaly

sis

Change

Man

agem

ent

/Prog

rammin

g(XM

L,Java

,JavaS

cript,

Perl,C++,

etc.)

Complia

nce

Conte

ntMa

nagem

ent

Corpo

rateC

ommunica

tion

Docume

ntatio

nMan

agem

ent

Graphic

Design

/Illustra

tion

Instructio

nalD

esign

/Course

wareDe

velopm

ent

Localiz

ation

/Inte

rnatio

nalizatio

n

Marketin

g

ProductM

anagem

ent

ProjectMa

nageme

nt(no

n-docum

entatio

n)

Prop

osalMa

nagem

ent

Quality

Assura

nce

Relea

seMan

agem

ent

Trainin

g

Usabilit

y

UserInt

erfaceDe

sign

Website

Developm

ent


18/24

Patent Claims Writing

Process Engineering

Program Management

Proposal Management

Publishing

Real Estate

Regulatory Affairs

Systems Engineering

TW recruitmentUser Experience Management

XML validation

Association Management

Creative Writing

Customer Support (Help Desk)

Database Creation and Design

Editing

Human Resources/Recruiting

Information Architect

Innovation management

Knowledge ManagementLawyer

Parts Sales/Service Manager

Other:Other:


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Business Owner

9%

Contractor/Consultant

31%

Staff Employee59%

Staff Employee and

Consultant

1%

Type of EmploymentType of Employment


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How Long in New Career FieldHow Long in New Career Field

0 to 3 years

31%

3 to 6 years

18%6 to 9 years

16%

More than 9 years

35%


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Average Compensation by FieldAverage Compensation by Field

$-

$20,000.00

$40,000.00

$60,000.00

$80,000.00

$100,000.00

$120,000.00

$140,000.00

$160,000.00

Accessibility

Busin

ess/S

oftwa

reAn

alysis

Change

Managem

ent

rogram

ming(X

ML,Java,JavaSc

ript,P

erl,C

++,etc.

Complia

nce

Conte

ntMa

nageme

nt

Corpo

rateC

ommu

nicati

on

Docume

ntatio

nMan

agem

ent

Graphic

Design

/Illustratio

n

Instru

ctionalDe

sign/C

ourse

wareDe

velop

ment

Localiza

tion/

Inter

natio

naliza

tion

Marke

ting

ProductM

anag

ement

ProjectM

anagem

ent(n

on-do

cume

ntatio

n)

ProposalMa

nageme

nt

Quality

Assuran

ce

Relea

seManagem

ent

Technic

alW

riting

Traini

ng

Usability

UserInt

erfaceD

esign

Website

Develo

pment


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AvgAvg Salary by Employment TypeSalary by Employment Type

$-

$20,000.00

$40,000.00

$60,000.00

$80,000.00

$100,000.00

$120,000.00

$140,000.00

$160,000.00

Business Owner Contractor/Consultant Staff Employee Staff Employee and Consultant


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ObservationsObservations

z The survey disproved my premise thatprofessionals in related fields are more highlycompensated than technical writers.

z The relative compensations followed a bell curve:

11 fields were higher

2 were the same

9 were lower

z The people who reported the highest

compensations were business owners.


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www.ProspringStaffing.com

www.LavaCon.org

alternate_career_paths.pdf

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