While waiting tables & attending a two year business college, I got a job at Georgia Tech Research Institute (in Huntsville, AL) as a clerk typist. I was there for about 8 years with several promotions along the way. I moved to Logan, UT, and began working as an executive assistant to the CEO of a small instrumentation company. I did a little of everything, including customer support when no one else was available, editing & writing marketing material & manuals when needed, facilities management, managing the secretarial staff, writing all the CEO's correspondence, and generally keeping him in line ;)
When I got bored about 8 years later, I applied for a job as a tech writer at a company that developed simulation systems for cranes, semi-trucks, and oil drilling. The company was in bankruptcy when I hired on, and 14 months later things still didn't look good, so I applied for a job as an "applications engineer" at Campbell Scientific. They were looking for someone to develop help, write manuals, do training, and customer support. I got the job, and 9 years later I am manager of the Software Support Group and the marketing Software Product Manager (I've had these managerial responsibilities only since February). The SSG is the "go between" for marketing and engineering. When new software comes out of engineering we do the alpha/beta testing, and get the product released. The "regular" AEs do first line technical support, but the tough questions get elevated to my group (we're supposed to be "software support" but we get a lot of other issues as well). I have given up almost all of my help development/manual writing responsibilities, except for the help files for our datalogger programming language. However, I still do a fair amount of writing in this new position. I *love* my job here. There is always something new to learn, and I'm often one of the first ones to get the new "toys" (hardware & software) out of engineering. On the personal front, my husband and I married a little over two years ago. He has full custody of two teenaged boys (15 & 17), and needless to say, that has been quite an adjustment ;) My "baby" is a furry feline named Snoopy, who is going on 14 this year. For fun, I try to get a little exercise most days and I enjoy hiking, road biking, and cross-country skiing on the weekends. I love to read (though I seem to find less & less time to do it these days), as well as cook, garden, and do crafty things such as stained glass, jewelry making, and sewing (also for which I find less & less time these days :( Dana W. *************************** Dana Worley Software Product Manager, Marketing Campbell Scientific, Inc. Microsoft MVP, Windows Help 2002-2007 _______________________________________________ Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com Your 3D Documentation Community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to TCP@techcommpros.com To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
