Saturday, February 8, 2014

Getting a Foothold in Canada's Technical Communication Field

By Anuradha Satish

As I write this blog post for the Southwestern Ontario chapter of the STC, I have a feeling of achievement and contentment. From being a new immigrant to Canada who experienced the initial hardships of settling down with two young kids, to getting enrolled in Seneca’s technical communication program, to developing a growing network of professionals – it’s been a terrific roller coaster ride!

Thanks to Rob Cundari, the STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter president and my professor at Seneca, I am using this platform to share thoughts on my adventurous journey so far.
 
I started my career in 2004 in the field of communication — I dabbled in journalism and corporate communication before becoming an Instructional Designer. Having six years of experience writing and editing technical documents and training manuals mostly for North American clients, I presumed my move to Canada would be a step towards my passion – being a technical communicator.

Immigration comes with its share of ups and downs, and if you’re 30, it surely comes with a whole lot more! While I enjoyed the new lifestyle, I missed my work! There were a couple of consultation projects but nothing consistent came along my way. It took two years of frustration, introspection (and a trip back home!) to make me realize that I wanted to do nothing else but write and edit. But with no contacts or mentors, I was at a dead-end, or seemingly so...

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of Seneca College’s technical communication program at York University. There are other universities offering similar programs; I chose Seneca because of the mandatory co-op term, which promised to fill the ‘Canadian-experience’ gap in my resume. Getting through the entrance test, the orientation process and the entire ‘going-back-to-school’ feeling surely excited me, but I was equally nervous – what if I don’t enjoy the program? What if I don’t learn anything new? What if I just don’t like it?

The answers came in the first week of September 2013, when I began my life as a student. The subjects were extremely interesting – Technical Writing, Editing, Programming and Coding, Information Technology, and software tools such as MS Word, Adobe Frame Maker and RoboHelp — I enjoyed every class! 


The professors are experienced professionals who are well-versed with industry practices and share much more than bookish knowledge. They opened doors to the STC – more networking opportunities! And the classroom is full of enthusiastic and eager learners like me – and before I knew it, I was already learning so much from everyone.

The program has sharpened my writing and editing and helped me upgrade my technical skills. For someone who only drafted in MS Word, learning the benefits of Adobe Frame Maker, Adobe RoboHelp, VBA and HTML was a great confidence boost. And it showed during my interview for the co-op placement — I got hired by the first company who interviewed me!

As I write this blog entry, it has been a month into my co-op. I am putting to practice the skills I learned at Seneca and sharing useful tips with my colleagues. The positive feedback I receive is heartening – it makes the entire journey worthwhile!

I would love to hear how and why you got in to the technical communications field yourself, and any advice you have for new writers looking to join our profession. Perhaps you can encourage more people like me who are looking forward to a challenging and successful career ahead.

Thank you!