English to IT West Memphis AR

Posted by : Molly Joss

Dear Molly: I have a degree in English and am interested in breaking into the field of IT via technical writing. Any advice on how I can get my foot in the door? I live in Atlanta, GA and most employers seem to be interested in candidates who are experienced technical writers or IT majors. Do you advise a master's degree in technical communications?

Molly says: While I applaud your desire to further your education, if you get a master's degree, you still won't have any experience or an IT degree, right? You'll just have spent a few more years putting out money rather than pulling it in. If you can afford to do that, you can afford to take a slightly zig-zag approach to getting into tech writing. It may take you some time to become an official technical writer, but you may also find that you're happier doing writing and research that's not hard-core technical writing.

One suggestion is to find a job in the marketing or public relations departments of one of the high-tech companies in the Atlanta area--and there are many. Use your research skills to compile a list of companies to send your resume to. Hit the core IT companies, but don't leave off the companies that use or sell lots of computers but would not ordinarily come to mind when you think IT. Heidelberg is one such company in the Atlanta area; this huge company sells high-end printing equipment--every product the company sells involves computers.

These kinds of entry-level job...

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