What Did You Do Before Joining Technical Communication?

By Karen Field Carroll, Editor

Welcome to Reader Round-Up, a monthly forum for you to share your thoughts and read those of your peers. Each month in Reader Round-Up, Signature asks a question relative to technical communication or technical communicators. You can send your answers to newsletter@stc-sd.org. In the following issue, we'll post the responses to the question and post a new question. All answers are included anonymously unless you specifically ask us to use your name. (Please include your job title, though.) Reader Round-Up is a fun, informal way to learn more about other STC members. So, let's go.

April's Question: Did you work in another field before becoming a technical communicator? If so, what field? What led you to tech comm?

I'll start. I graduated from Cal State Northridge with a degree in Kinesiology, which is a fancy way to say exercise science. After college, I ran a fitness program for the YMCA, worked in a cardiac rehabilitation program conducting treadmill stress tests and prescribing exercise programs, and taught group exercise classes. I left the field for two reasons: First, I wanted to follow my passion for writing, which I'd had since I was very young. Second, being a true introvert, I found the very extroverted field of health and fitness taxing. Although I still exercise like a demon myself, I feel less overwhelmed spending most of my day at the computer monitor instead of in front of a group.

So, tell us: What did you do before you became a technical communicator?