Friday, January 22, 2010

Path's of the Craft




Writing is such an ambiguous term. It can be used to describe everything from the compilation of a novel, to taking notes in a meeting, or anything in between. As an aspiring author, I've dabbled in poetry, short story and am continuing my learning curve towards working on a full fledged non-fiction novel. This semester I decided to take an evening class in creative writing, something which most writers could benefit from (yes, even me... thank you all for your looks of shock and awe). In it, our instructor discussed a few of the different aspects of writing and will continue to address them more personally as we are assigned to compile works in said branches. I've always wondered what avenues I could take, in the job world, if I wanted to utilize my love for writing, so here's a few jobs related to writing that I thought I'd post up for your viewing/curiosity pleasure. This list is by no means exhaustive, but maybe it can help elucidate the industry. Click on the link if you'd like a more detailed explanation of the job outlook for each. Included below each category are little snippets BLS website. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

1. Journalism
The work of news analysts, reporters, and correspondents is usually hectic. They are under great pressure to meet deadlines. Broadcasts sometimes are aired with little or no time for preparation. Source: BLS

2. Editing
Editors review, rewrite, and edit the work of writers. They also may do original writing. An editor's responsibilities vary with the employer and type and level of editorial position held. Editorial duties may include planning the content of books, journals, magazines, and other general-interest publications. Source: BLS

3. Technical Writing
Technical writers, also called technical communicators, put technical information into easily understandable language. They work primarily in information-technology-related industries, coordinating the development and dissemination of technical content for a variety of users.
Source: BLS

4. Medical Transcription
Medical transcriptionists listen to dictated recordings made by physicians and other health care professionals and transcribe them into medical reports, correspondence, and other administrative material. Source: BLS

5. Software Programmer
Computer programmers write programs. After computer software engineers and systems analysts design software programs, the programmer converts that design into a logical series of instructions that the computer can follow. Source: BLS

6. Writers/Authors
Writers and authors develop original written materials for books, magazines, trade journals, online publications, company newsletters, and advertisements. Their works are classified broadly as either fiction or nonfiction. Source: BLS

7. Document Translation for Foreign Interest
Translators convert written materials from one language into another. They must have excellent writing and analytical ability, and because the translations that they produce must be accurate, they also need good editing skills. Source: BLS

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a nice summary--well written in layman's terms : )

Great additional info one click away.

Thanks for taking the time to compile this list.

Joshua McCune said...

Well, I've done 3, 5, and 6. Not a big fan of 3. 5 and 6 can be pretty fun, but frequently frustrating.

Voidwalker said...

Cat: Thanks. I try to keep things on here multi-intelligence level friendly.

Bane: Nice. Yeah, I'd probably stay away from #3 myself. I actually played around a bit with software programming when I was in college many years ago. I really enjoyed it, but the math requirements for degrees turned me away, eventually leading me to becoming certified with Cisco for Networking.

Charles Gramlich said...

Except for translation, I've done most of those at one time or another.

Voidwalker said...

Oh but Charles, the translating part of the fuuuuu uh uhnest! Especially if you don't know the language you are supposed to be translating! :o)

Natalie Murphy said...

Great list!!!

DL Hammons said...

In my job I write a lot of instruction manuals and procedures. Very technical and dry. I have to work hard to overcome my work habits and inject emotion into my writing away from work.

Voidwalker said...

Natalie: Thanks! Good to have you here.

DL: I've been in similar situations. I used to work for a security company and, when writing reports up for incidents, I'd have to be careful not to personalize it. So I understand where you are coming from.

JournoMich said...

Fantastic! I had never thought of this as a post topic and I am officially jealous. This is going on my SundayForeignPostRoundup.

Anyway...As I a journalist I heartily agree with the description you found. As a broadcast journalist, I appreciate the emphasis put on time crunch. We strive to put the most current and best-written news on the air the fastest (at least I do).

Thanks for opening my world up to these other forms of writing. And thank you for joining my site!

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

JournoMich said...

You have an award waiting for you on my blog.

Michele
SouthernCityMysteries

Natalie said...

I got my degree in Journalism. I never worked a day as a real jornalist, but it has been a little useful. :)

DEZMOND said...

I'm personally a literary translator, and I can tell you it is a job which requires highly developed writing, analytical, organizational skills and also a lot of imagination and knowledge of many languages and cultures.

Voidwalker said...

Michele: Thank you very much for the award and the compliments. I'm glad to have you stopping by. Please come back often and I'll be checking on yours too!

Natalie: Any particular reason you didn't work in that field?

Dezmond: Thanks for dropping by. I had a desire for a few years to get into literary translating for Arabic (due to the controversial nature of the international communities relationship with Arabic speaking languages) BUT, then I realized I thought Arabic wasn't a very pleasant sounding language and just scrapped the idea after spending a bit more time looking into it.