By Jonah Schwartz | STC New Professional Member
Bob: Throw me in the water and see if I can swim.
Larry: We’re about to throw you off a cliff and see if you can fly.
– Hospitality Suite (1989)
“As long as failure’s only ninety-nine percent, it’s not impossible.”
– Jeffrey Lewis, “It’s Not Impossible”
My undergraduate experience was unpleasant. After nearly four years of loneliness, failure, and ennui, I settled as an English major with a concentration in film studies. Though I enjoyed it and did well, I wasn’t thinking long term about my future. I could have studied technical writing, but I misunderstood what it was and was looking for the easy way out. I regretted this immediately upon graduation and carried that for 10 years.
I had been inculcated into presupposing that I would be venerated for vaunting my palmary and loquacious argot. Technical writing is the opposite. Praise is earned for simple, concise, plain language, and I soon realized that I am well-suited for this field, as it dovetails with my constitution, interests, and how I process information. I’ve always enjoyed explaining things to others because it enables me to better understand that content while helping others accomplish their goals. I crave structure, and technical writing provides rules, requirements, and deadlines, but within that is flexibility for creative solutions and problem-solving beyond putting words on a page.
I spent a decade working retail but maintained a growing interest in the field. At work, I marveled at the instructions and assembly manuals of the products we sold, store signage (wording, colors, typeface, readability), the design and language of the legally mandated posters of our rights and policies, SOP manuals, the design and scripting of training materials, store circulars, and the instructions on first aid kit sundries, to name a few. In my free time, I participated in usability testing and focus groups. I was, and am, fascinated by the research and design process of those studies. As a visual learner, the history and myriad data visualizations and table layouts have always captivated me. I’ve always been curious about the industry and international standards, from ISO and UL certifications to how icons like the power symbol or the ubiquitous indicator lights in a car are developed and enforced.
Someone had to produce those materials and make those decisions, and I hoped to one day be that person or on that team, but I didn’t know how to proceed or enter the field. I took great pride that I was surviving on my own, but I felt resigned to retail and shelved the dream.
The universe tilted in 2013, and I moved from New York to North Carolina to help take care of a dying family member—a compromise that came with financial support to go back to school to hopefully land a job in the field. This gift and rare opportunity meant uprooting my life and surrendering all the comforts and independence I had built on my own; it also meant that, if I said no, I would never be allowed to complain about anything again.
Earning an Advanced Degree
So began my adventure into the wild world of advanced degrees. I spent the first year as a caregiver, not working, while waiting for enough time to pass to claim in-state residency. Geographic and logistical constraints limited my choice of schools and programs, which were further restricted by my exclusively retail work history and a GPA that was both outdated and low. In 2015, I enrolled at East Carolina University (ECU) and was admitted as a conditional student because of my limiting background. I also have dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADD, which present their own set of challenges, but the program was online and allowed me to work at my own pace. While face-to-face interaction is preferable, this format worked well for me. I graduated two years later with a 4.0 GPA and several top-notch portfolio pieces. My professors were dedicated, encouraging, and supportive, but they were also lifelines and bridges to careers and colleagues who, in turn, are bridges to more of those. This is not to say you need a master’s to enter the field, but I don’t think I would be here without it.
Among my classes was Document Design, where I created powerful portfolio pieces, such as a printed and bound travel guide for introverts, and illustrated and written guidelines for a wave-making machine based on ambiguously worded design requirements. In another class, I was the team lead for creating a content strategy for a local nonprofit. In another, I researched and sought private grant funding for a different nonprofit. There was a class on the methodologies and design of research experiments and one on ethical issues within technical communication.
I walked away with sharpened skills on how to think like a technical writer, research and gather information (which is half of technical writing), and understand how and why different layouts work for different audiences and user needs. The coursework was grounded in theory and is necessary for success, but it lacked exposure to the applications widely used in the industry, such as MadCap Flare, DITA, oXygen, RoboHelp, FrameMaker, HTML, and CSS. Not every job uses those tools, but I was unprepared and shocked when I discovered these gaps in my education. This is why joining STC and a local community (in my case, STC Carolina) is invaluable.
The Importance of Professional Associations
I quickly discovered that STC membership connected me with professors and industry professionals (sometimes they’re the same person) from corporations and nonprofits, both big and small. I gained access to webinars, industry-leading publications, training, and workshops on every topic of career development, from software skills to expanding my network to resume writing. Resources provided by STC will be valuable no matter where I am in my career.
In my first semester, I attended an STC Carolina talk on transitioning from school to industry and became a member shortly thereafter. I began volunteering for STC Carolina by attending and helping facilitate award ceremonies, meet-n-greets, lunch-n-learns, and mentoring sessions. I soon joined the Administrative Council, where I served for three years, first as the Programs Director, then as Communication Chair, where I gained important experience in tech writing, leadership, and administrative work, including:
- Organizing events
- Conducting and analyzing surveys
- Redesigning business cards
- Writing blogs
- Creating event fliers
- Developing process and SOP documentation for incoming council members
- Delegating communication duties to our blog team
- Writing and distributing a monthly newsletter
We also rebuilt our website from scratch, and it was exhilarating to be involved in every step, from ideation to implementation. We did it all:
- Brainstorming on dry erase boards
- Drafting wireframe designs, card sorts
- Filling walls with colorful sticky notes
- Creating user personas
- Meeting to discuss typeface and color usage
- Reporting bugs
- Conducting usability tests
These efforts led, and continue to lead, us to winning STC awards, which are internationally recognized for their prestige and excellence. It is rewarding to be part of a team that creates meaningful value for our community while building confidence, experience, and satisfaction. And I have the portfolio pieces to show for my efforts.
Every touchpoint, no matter how banal, has value if you use it correctly. Wikipedia’s citations can lead you to primary sources. You can obtain free software and downloadable trials of that aforementioned software. LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and specialized message boards connect you with discussions, people, and resources that can help you break into the field, acquire or strengthen skills, and troubleshoot. There is a nearly infinite supply of technical writing books, e-books, audiobooks, and podcasts. STC helped me contextualize and orient myself within the overwhelming abundance of resources while learning how to network in person and online and while picking up actionable knowledge about how to succeed in the industry.
The Bridge Between Academia and Industry
Early in my program, in 2015, I attended Michael Albers’ Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI) and met many from academia and industry with whom I still maintain contact. In 2017 (and again in 2019), I presented a poster at SCCI on the impact of data visualization colors on multicultural audiences. This also helped expand my network and gain exposure to research in the field.
In 2016, one of the SCCI attendees, Lisa Melançon, encouraged me to enter STC’s International Student Infographic contest. I won. It was my first foray into the field, I was already making waves, and I made a big enough splash to be interviewed in the school newspaper. ECU flew me to the STC Summit in Anaheim, California, that year to collect the award. Whether in school, STC, SCCI, or other conferences and groups, it’s heartening to be surrounded by like-minded, passionate professionals and students from disparate backgrounds who share the same goals and interests. Technical communicators are used in every field and capacity. Translation experts, web designers, engineers, professors, publishers, software engineers, videographers, and so forth—all in the same room with the same passion, same mission, happily accepting new ideas, perspectives, and fresh faces into their fold. I suggest you look for conferences and events in your area.
Entering the Workforce
While accepting my award in Anaheim, I was offered a three-month internship that I had applied to months earlier for one of my ECU classes. I was let go after just four days because of internal challenges; however, I had to work 140 hours to earn the credits, so the company graciously let me stay long enough to meet that threshold. I maintained seriousness, excitement, and high productivity with a positive attitude because I was finally a technical writer! I relished every quirk and nuance of the experience, right down to my squeaky chair. I produced onboarding documentation from written requirements, and I was given free rein to assemble it in the way that I thought was most effective. I also updated legacy documentation to match current formatting standards, and I created job ads and knowledge base articles for field workers. My hope was that, despite knowing I would soon be let go, they would want to find a place for me after seeing my output and the value I added. While that didn’t happen, I left on good terms with respectable, physical portfolio pieces that led directly to opportunities later. It was a good experience that primed me and set the bar of expectations for future experiences.
I graduated, and Intercom published an article on my work on data visualization colors—my proudest portfolio piece. I continued to volunteer with STC Carolina on the Admin Council while I braved the job search process for two agonizing years. I was finally hired as a contract technical writer for the state, functioning in various capacities in program and project support. I believe that the work I did during the internship is what impressed them the most.
How My Experience Connected to My Work (or What to Expect)
As a contract technical writer, I produced several internal documentation and policy guidelines, ran many meetings, and worked on cross-functional teams. Much of my work was adjacent to writing, such as gathering and organizing information and producing program, project, and policy documentation. I helped develop a migration plan for the risk management team, was a scribe at status meetings, and posted minutes and summaries on SharePoint. I also led a monthly interstate meeting, where I gathered and reported on information-sharing requests and status updates. I had to know where or how to find information and report it competently and efficiently. When people recognize your skills and dedication on one project, you’re often brought onto others, and you learn as you go. Thus, I was asked to research the Section 508 requirements for our web-based training, and I became something of a subject matter expert on the topic. It was surreal to be brought into a meeting and speak authoritatively on a topic. There was also a delicate balance between giving and receiving feedback because everyone responds to criticism differently, and you always want to be sensitive and cognizant of those needs.
I think of myself as a user advocate: caring and empathetic. Technical writing requires this because effective and accessible content must consider the individual and cultural needs of all readers, and user bases are always changing. Creative writing is about the author; technical writing is about the audience.
I overcame and accommodated my learning disabilities by forging strong relationships with managers and coworkers who were patient because they knew the quality of my work. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions, and I knew where to pace myself. I spent more time on projects that I knew would take longer and more quickly wrapped up those that I knew I could handle. So—and I say this as a card-carrying pessimist—it’s not too late for you. I’d argue that everybody is a technical communicator because we all want ourselves and our work to be understood and received as intended. School and STC merely made me more effective at that, relying on research and best practices, not intuition and guesswork.
COVID-19 and Current Impacts
About a year and a half and three contract renewals later, the state job was cut short due to budgetary issues. Then COVID-19 hit. As of this writing, I’m still in transition to my next adventure and am looking for any contract or full-time opportunities in the field. I remain alert as I crest this hill, still looking forward while I apply and interview. It’s a slow, often painful process, but I cannot undervalue the power of networking and STC membership.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
There are two morals to this story. I’ve met people—some from STC—who helped me when I felt like I had no gas left in my tank, but I also admit with shame and embarrassment that I squandered some opportunities, either out of fear of success, fear of failure, bad timing, or whatever other poor excuses I had at the time, hurting relationships and my potential. Those missed opportunities bit me later. I have seen this happen to others as well, and it doesn’t help anybody, so now I try to take every opportunity I can because I don’t know when those things will be useful.
Secondly, I strive to treat everything I do with grace, pride, and effort. I cannot know when or if what I’ve done will be meaningful for someone else. That is not a decision for me to make. Something I dismissed as meritless may be exactly what someone else is looking for, and I never know when that moment will come.
I wish you luck and success. Remember that perfection is not a destination; it’s a process.
Update
In December 2020—on the week of my 39th birthday and after an exhausting year of unemployment—I was offered a new role with the state, in a higher position with more responsibility. I don’t take this lightly, and I am grateful for the opportunity, but I am excited for the continued adventure.
JONAH SCHWARTZ (jonaheschwartz@gmail.com) earned his master’s degree in technical and professional communication from East Carolina University in 2017. He is the former Programs Director and Communications Director of STC Carolina and still contributes to their blog. In 2016, he won the International Summit Awards Student Infographic Contest. He can be reached on Twitter at @jonaheschwartz.
References
About us. STC Carolina website. https://www.stc-carolina.org.
Communities. Society for Technical Communication website. https://www.stc.org/communities.
Glickman J. STC 2016 interview with Jonah Schwartz [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi535DcXEZA. Published 16 May 2016.
Schwartz J. Graph colors vs. the world: Exploring the empty valley between data visualization and multicultural communication. Intercom. 2018;8. https://www.stc.org/intercom/2018/12/graph-colors-vs-the-world-exploring-the-empty-valley-between-data-visualization-and-multicultural-communication.
Statement from the steering committee. Symposium on Communicating Complex Information website. https://scciannual.com.
