Versioning

As I read this article about "versioning" in software - What is Versioning? - I couldn't help but think about my own versioning standard at Quintrex. There were hundreds of PDFs that I was responsible for as the company's lone technical writer. One of the challenges I faced included deciding how I was going to distinquish between when I changed a document's formatting from when I changed a document's content. I didn't realize it at the time but I was seeking a way to separate "content" from "formatting" which is another way of separating the presentation and content - a concept mentioned elsewhere on this blog [See https://prhmusic.blogspot.com/search/label/separation%20of%20presentation%20and%20content]
THe strategy I used was to use this format: XXX.YYY. Version is in XXX.YYY format where XXX is upped when it is a content change and YYY is upped when it is a formatting change.

My COVID-19 Wake-Up Alarm

I've noticed that COVID-19 isn't in the news a lot. Occasionally, I'll see an article that discusses abstract topics such as How COVID-19 Changes the Heart—Even After the Virus Is Gone or when Michael Knowles talks about a new COVID-19 medicine, as he did in the lead story of episode 1188 with the tagline Pfizer sells a COVID drug with lots of unpleasant side effects in the video description.

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All I can say is that I have a co-worker who wasn't at his cubicle for two weeks. Yesterday, I saw him at his cubicle so I went to him and said, "I noticed that you were gone. Sometimes when I'm gone and I come back, I wonder if anyone noticed that I was gone so I am just letting you know that I noticed." I've known this co-worker for decades. We both worked together at Quintrex Data Systems in Cedar Rapids for several years before we both eventually left. My point is when I found out that my co-worker was gone for two weeks due to his recent battle with COVID-19, it was a wake-up call, a reminder that COVID-19 is still a "thing" in the world. 

Be careful out there.

Terrible Advice that is True

I was reminded of both working at Quintrex as well as working with the Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa when I read Page Ranges in a TOC this morning, which says the following:

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Colin asked if it is possible to construct a table of contents so it includes not just a starting page number, but a range of page numbers. For instance, the table of contents would include 1-1 to 1-22 instead of just 1-1.

Unfortunately, this is not possible in Word. The table of contents feature is designed to only include starting page numbers. It would appear that this decision is related to the fact that determining a starting page number is easy (it is the page on which the related heading starts), but an ending page number for a section is not as easily determined. Where a section ends depends on what headings you instruct Word to include in the TOC.

If you want page ranges in your TOC, the only way to get them is to manually enter the TOC and not rely on Word to create one automatically.

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When I worked at Quintrex, BSS was my co-worker. He used to write documentation in Microsoft Word. 

One day, he showed me that how he created a table of contents for one of his documents. 

For each section that he wanted to have included in the table of contents, he selected the text and clicked Insert > Bookmark. He repeated this process for each heading throughout his document. 

Then, on the table of contents page, he typed the name of each bookmark - he did not use any Word styles in his document - typed the leader dots [.....], then the page number. After typing the page number, he selected the page number and clicked Insert > Hyperlink and selected a heading in his document. He repeated this process for each heading in his document.

Thankfully, when he showed me his process, I was able to show him how to insert a TOC field which automatically builds the table of contents. 

I chuckle about it now. When I left Quintrex to go to the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, the tool that was being used for one of the user guides was InDesign. In context, InDesign is typically used by a marketing department to create short (generally, under 10 pages) documents. However, at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, InDesign was being used for a (roughly) 150 page user guide. The Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa followed a similar process of manually creating the table of contents for that 150 page user guide. In fact, the Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa went a step further and printed the entire 150 page user guide to manually verify that the page number in the table of contents matched the actual page in the body of the document. The Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa went further to brag about staying at work until midnight on the night before the new version of the 150 page user guide was due, providing details of printing the 150 page user guide multiple times which, to me, proved that the process followed by Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa was ... stupid. It was an absolutely terrible process and to brag about being required to be working on the 150 page user guide until midnight beautifully illustrates how the process was a broken process and the utter and complete incompetence of that Senior Technical Writer at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa. 

It is good advice to tell someone (Colin) that the intended goal is dumb. If you really want to know when a section ends, look at the table of contents. For example, look at this table of contents:

Section 1............... 1

Section 2............... 15  

You can see that Section 1 starts on page 1 and Section 2 begins on page 15. That tells someone looking at the table of contents that Section 1 is 14 pages (pages 1 through 14). As a side note, I'd add that I've never seen a table of contents that shows a page range for a section. It is always good advice to tell someone (Colin) that the intended goal of what you want to do is unattainable. As it is written, the author of Page Ranges in a TOC made me think of two former co-workers who manually created a table of contents, which is wrong.

What if I Had a MIS Degree

These are certainly two awesome jobs that I won't apply for. 

Either of these jobs would be awesome... if I were qualified.

OR

If I were qualified, either of these jobs would be awesome.

I enjoy my work as a technical writer in HCIS. I reached my 6 year work anniversary on 3-28-2022!! Considering that in my previous employers, I did not reach a 6 year work anniversary. Prior to working here, my previous employers were: 

• NDP was  3 years
• Jordan Systems was 7 months, 3 weeks
• Quintrex Data Systems was 12 years, 2 weeks
  
• Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa was 5 months, 3 weeks, 4 days
• Pearson was 4 years, 7 months, 4 weeks

While I am half-way to reaching my record - 12 years at Quintrex, I believe 6 years is pretty cool, especially when I really cannot imagine still being at any of those other companies. To be clear, I have had a good work history, despite the time I spent at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa.

If I have anything to say about it, I will work another 5114 days (14 years) from 3-28-2022 until 3-28-2036, which is when I will have 20 years of service. Prior to working here, I worked as a technical writer for 7717 days (21 years, 1 month, 2 weeks, 4 days) so reaching 20 years of service does mean that I have more years of experience (by 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks, 4 days) as a software technical writer than I have as a disaster recovery technical writer, but I can live with that. 

I don't think I can justify working until 5-01-2037 - with 7704 days (21 years, 3 days) of service here just to top my software technical writer years. I would be alive 24620 days (67 years, 4 months, 3 weeks, 6 days) if I worked until 5-01-2037. I do want to retire someday....

I'm not qualified for either position described below. I don't mind.

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This position is primarily remote, but may be required to work onsite at times. Remote work must be performed at an offsite location within the state of Iowa. Successful candidates must comply with requirements of the remote work program and related policies.

Position will be filled as either a Systems Administrator or Systems Analyst based on candidate qualifications and interview evaluation.  To be considered for different job classification levels, candidate must apply for each position interested in.

Pay Grade: https://hr.uiowa.edu/pay/pay-plans/professional-and-scientific-pay-structure-b

Salary: $55,000 to commensurate – 4B – Systems Administrator

$44,000 to commensurate – 3B – Systems Analyst

University of Iowa offers a generous benefits package, including 24 days paid vacation per year to start and paid sick leave. Complete information regarding the full benefits package may be viewed at: https://hr.uiowa.edu/benefits/fpsm.

Percent of Time:  100%

Location: 3281 Ridgeway Dr, Coralville, IA  52241

Staff Type: Professional & Scientific

Type of Position: Regular

Systems Administrator:

The Central Sterilizing Systems Administrator assists in the implementation, configuration, and support of the many systems that make up the Central Sterilizing Department.  Job responsibilities include a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Windows Server Operating Systems along with Windows High Availability solutions. A moderate understanding of MS SQL, IIS, Device and Data Integration along with the basic concepts of firewalls, networking, network-based storage systems and one or more hypervisor technologies.  This individual must contribute to troubleshooting complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of contributing factors. This person must also network with key contacts outside their own area of expertise for issue identification & resolution.

 

Education Required

Bachelor’s degree in MIS, Computer Science, or related degree; or an equivalent combination of education and experience in a related field.

 

Experience Requirements

·         Typically, 3-5 years of experience in IT systems infrastructure development for the System Administrator level position. 

·         In-depth working knowledge of server hardware and Microsoft Operating Systems along with file services.

·         Knowledge of systems administration of Microsoft SQL, IIS and Windows High Availability solutions.

·         Accuracy and attention to detail with strong organizational skills.

·         Ability to effectively document procedures and instructions.

·         Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, and strong interpersonal skills.

·         Ability to manage small IT projects that require coordination of staff and resources.

 

Desired Qualifications

• Experience programming with a scripting language such as PowerShell.
• Working knowledge of networking technologies and firewalls 
• Familiar with medical instrument tracking and sterilization applications
• Familiar with server hardening methodologies and practical implementation experience.
• Familiar with procedure recording, medical virtual presence, and Information Integration
• Technically fluent in server hardware and Windows Server administration version 2016 or later.
• Hands-on experience with one or more hypervisor technologies.

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Systems Analyst

The Central Sterilizing Systems Analyst assists in the implementation, configuration, and support of the many systems that make up the Central Sterilizing Department.  Job responsibilities include a working knowledge of Microsoft Windows Server Operating Systems along with Basic Understanding of Windows High Availability solution. A basic understanding of MS SQL, IIS, Device and Data Integration along with the basic concepts of firewalls, networking, network-based storage systems and one or more hypervisor technologies.  This individual must contribute to troubleshooting complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of contributing factors. This person must also network with key contacts outside their own area of expertise for issue identification & resolution.

 

Education Required

Bachelor’s degree in MIS, Computer Science, or related degree; or an equivalent combination of education and experience in a related field.

 

Experience Requirements

·         Typically, 1-3 years of experience in IT systems infrastructure development for the System Analyst level position. 

·         Working knowledge of server hardware and Microsoft Operating Systems along with file services.

·         Basic knowledge of systems administration of Microsoft SQL, IIS, and Windows High Availability solutions.

·         Accuracy and attention to detail with strong organizational skills.

·         Ability to effectively document procedures and instructions.

·         Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, and strong interpersonal skills.

·         Ability to manage small IT projects that require coordination of staff and resources.

Desired Qualifications

·         Basic understanding of networking technologies and firewalls

·         Experience programming with a scripting language such as PowerShell.

·         Familiar with server hardening methodologies and practical implementation experience.

·         Familiar with medical instrument tracking and sterilization applications

• Familiar with procedure recording, medical virtual presence, and Information Integration
• Technically fluent in server hardware and Windows Server administration version 2016 or later.
• Hands-on experience with one or more hypervisor technologies.
• Basic knowledge of and experience with monitoring, measuring, and optimizing individual and combined utilization of hardware, software, and telecommunications components.
• Basic knowledge of approaches, practices, tools and Techniques for the development and administration of contingency and disaster recovery plan.
• Basic knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis and the ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve the problems in the best interest of the business.
• Basic knowledge and experience with tools and techniques for planning, organizing, monitoring, and controlling IT projects.

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A New Mouse

On 11-24-2021, I brought two mice (pointing devices for use with my laptop) home for the long weekend. When I came in to work today, I realized that I had the USB receiver for my Anker mouse, but had brought my Logitech mouse with me. I could not bear the thought of using the touchpad on my laptop so, for today, I am borrowing a wired mouse from a nearby empty cubicle. I do not like wired mice, especially now that I've been using a wireless mouse for at least a decade. I don't remember having a wireless mouse at QDS (Quintrex Data Systems), but I do remember having a wireless mouse at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, which would have been October - April 2011. I know I always used a wireless mouse while I worked at Pearson from May 2011 - Jan 2016; I have always used a wireless mouse at my current employer, except for a day like this when I either forgot my wireless mouse or I forgot the USB receiver. Of course, this wired mouse will be returned to that empty cubicle tomorrow, but I just wanted to document the day on which this happened.

Spells Out the Unspoken

What I like the most about this job ad is this text:

You will also have the opportunity to act as a “user” for Zoomin’s own products. In this capacity, you will be expected to act as a beta-tester ,design partner and customer advocate for Zoomin

In my career as a Technical Writer, dating back to my first day at NDP in Cedar Rapids, "acting" as a "user" for the product I was documenting has always been part of the job, at NDP, at Jordan Systems, at Quintrex, at the Unnamed Hellhole in Southern Iowa, and at Pearson because, at each of those companies, if I didn't "act as a user," my work would have been useless for the target audience. 

At my current job, as a Senior Technical Writer working on both Disaster Recovery documentation and Knowledge Management, I am doing hardly any writing. For both of those projects, the SMEs write the documentation and I curate the content into a deliverable. After 5 1/2 years in this current role, I sometimes struggle with the lack of writing I do on a daily basis. I love my job - certainly, no, there's no way I will ever work in Tel Aviv...

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Technical Writer

• Tel Aviv

Description

A Technical Writer is an important position for any B2B software company, but all the more so for Zoomin, a company whose mission is to reinvent the enterprise technical content experience. 

As Technical Writer you will be expected to author high quality technical product content to help our customers get the most out of Zoomin. You will also have the opportunity to act as a “user” for Zoomin’s own products. In this capacity, you will be expected to act as a beta-tester ,design partner and customer advocate for Zoomin, across the entire range of technical documentation experiences (including the documentation portal and in-product help).

If you like communicating clearly in both written and verbal form, are passionate about technical documentation, and want to play an active role in the next generation of a product content experience, this job is for you!

Responsibilities

• Become a domain expert in our products
• Create, maintain and publish high quality, clear, technical content about our products
• Help drive improvements in content, based on user feedback and analytics, to improve customer satisfaction and engagement
• Act as a beta-customer and design-partner for Zoomin’s platform. Help design and improve new features and capabilities 
• Be a passionate  Zoomin advocate when communicating with customers and prospects, and help in closing new sales and upsell opportunities

Requirements

Qualifications

 Please apply if you:

• Are passionate about technical documentation and interested in making a big impact in this space
• Have at least three years of experience writing high-quality technical documentation for software products in English
• Able to write and speak in English at the level of a native speaker
• Proven experience with DITA - an advantage

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About my Post-C-19 World Part II

After only exchanging text messages and scattered phone calls for over a year, I finally saw BSS, my friend who I met when we both worked at Quintrex, at the Tin Roost in North Liberty. The Tin Roost was rocking. Not only was "Flash in the Pan" playing on the patio, it seemed like it was a pure party. In addition to BSS, I talked to: 

1. Fred & Julie
2. the Kleinows
   
3. too many acquaintances and friends from church and from Regina to list individually
   
4. Megan

Yes, even Megan, my daughter, was at the Tin Roost.

Never Seen This Layout For a Job Ad

Editor's Note: I want to preface this post by stating, quite simply, I am extremely happy to work for my employer and in no way shape or form am I thinking about leaving. I am only writing what I am writing today because I saw something worth writing about earlier today.

I don't write about this topic often so this may come as a shock: I am fascinated by job ads. For over 30 years, which is when I was in my sophomore year at college, I vividly remember scanning the Sunday Classified ads in the Cedar Rapids Gazette because I wanted to find a different job than working at the Spring House Restaurant, but I never found what I was looking for in that section.

Then, when I was nearing graduation from college, I remember scanning the Classified ads in the Cedar Rapids Gazette every day because I wanted to find a full-time, permanent job so that I could leave my job at the Spring House Restaurant. Eventually, I saw the ad for APAC Teleservices in late summer of 1992 and was eventually hired to work for that company.

However, my scanning of the Classified ads never waned.

When I was hired at my first Technical Writer position at NDP, I continued to scan the Classified ads in the Cedar Rapids Gazette because I felt like I should move on to another company. Eventually, I saw the ad for Jordan Systems in January 1998 and was eventually hired to work for that company.

However, my scanning of the Classified ads never waned.

When I was working at Jordan Systems, I learned that there was economic uncertainty within the company. I was shifted from Technical Writer to Data Entry in order to generate revenue for the company. I continued to scan the Classified ads in the Cedar Rapids Gazette because I felt like I should move on to another company, especially given the fact that Karen was pregnant with our second child. Eventually, I saw the ad for Quintrex Data Systems in August 1998 and was eventually hired to work for that company.

However, my scanning of the Classified ads in the Cedar Rapids Gazette never waned. If anything, it pushed me to what became an obsession for me between 2004 and 2010, when the Internet "happened".

When I was working at Quintrex Data Systems, I longed to find a part-time gig to supplement my income. I dreamed of working at Quintrex Data Systems during the day and then running my own Technical Writing Consulting Business (I called it the TWCB) after work. I was able to do that, through contract work with HiMARKS, Collective Data, and the company that has a software called "Help & Manual" at various points in time during my dozen years at Quintrex Data Systems. However, I also was seeking a different permanent full-time Technical Writer job for various reasons. I looked at all sorts of job ads for local as well as non-local companies. I had a sub-folder of bookmarks for local companies so I could review any new openings on a regular basis. Eventually, I saw the ad for the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa on their website and was eventually hired to work for that company.

And I'll end the story there, just because of the sheer repetition of this post may be lulling you to sleep.

My point is that I have looked at hundreds, if not thousands, of job ads in my lifetime and today was my first time seeing a "regular" job ad with a two-column layout. Sure, I've seen two-column ads in newspapers, but I don't recall seeing an online ad. To be clear, no, there's nothing exciting about a two-column layout. Certainly, I'm not going to apply for this position with O.C. Tanner in Salt Lake City, UT. I just had never seen it in the 30 years that I have looked at job ads.

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What I Want to Learn Part IV

I didn't write about it when I should have.

Yesterday was a double shot of anniversaries of two huge events in my career.

First, on October 1, 1998, I started at a new job at a software company called Quintrex Data Systems (QDS), which, by that name, no longer exists. I had my last day at Jordan Systems, a software company which, by the way, also no longer exists, on September 30 and started at QDS the next day. I was very excited to join QDS and, long story short, I stayed for a dozen years. QDS introduced me to a tool called RoboHelp, which I eventually mastered to the extent that I became a RoboHelp Most Valued Professional on 10/17/2002 - or at least that's the date on the certificate that the CEO of QDS gave me. I have that certificate on the bookshelf directly in front of me because I'm proud of that accomplishment. During my time at QDS, I attended a WinWriters conference in Boston, MA, in 2004 and a WinWriters conference in Long Beach, CA, in 2007. In addition to networking with some of my technical writing heroes at both conferences, I was able to see both coasts of America without paying for seeing it. Of course, since Karen went with me, there was her plane ticket so it wasn't free, but I know I would have never gone to both coasts as cheaply as I did.

My brain works in a quirky way because mentioning money is a great transition to the other reason why October 1 is also an anniversary of a second event in my career. It is the 10-year anniversary of being reaching my 12-year anniversary of being a QDS employee and, on that same day, when I tendered my resignation. I had been hired by the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and had negotiated with that company to have my first day be on Monday, October 18, 2010. 

I know that there is a lot of venom about the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa - look for posts on this blog by the "Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa" label - to read venomous and angry and anguished words about that hellhole. To say that I used to be very angry about the way I was treated and how my time at that company ended after only 177 days or 5 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, is accurate. I also have realized that I had to be hired at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa in order to arrive at my current employer. To fully appreciate my time at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, I had to learn that it's okay to have a career with mistakes and errors. Upon reflection, leaving QDS to join the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa was an awful mistake - I can't wax poetic and say, "Oh, it wasn't so bad." I have to be honest: calling a former employer a "hellhole" is the correct adjective. Trust me.

At the same time, I love to write about the "what if I had chosen B instead of A" episodes in my life. In my journal, for example, I have tackled the following scenarios more than once:

• what if Karen and I had never had a New Year's Eve party on 12/31/1994? It was at that party when I learned from one of our college friends that he had a job at a great company in downtown Cedar Rapids and that I should send my resume to his manager. That company was Network Data Processing (NDP) and it was my first job as a technical writer. 
• what if I had never left QDS and had never been hired by the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa?

I don't know what else would be different in my life other than I firmly believe I would not be in my current job situation if I had never been hired by the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa. There's no scenario in which I still end up being hired at Pearson in April 2011 without leaving QDS. There's no scenario in which I learn as much as I have about content reuse and *true* technical writing at Pearson in order to be hired by my current employer. While yesterday's anniversary involves the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and is not an anniversary of a "good" point in my career, I still need to remember that God has a plan for me. Spending time in that Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa certainly would NOT have been MY plan!

A Band that Released an Album Throughout My Career

In my career, I have worked at 5 major employers and during the time I worked for each employer, Sevendust released an album. The same cannot be said for Bayside - they didn't exist when I worked for NDP, for Count the Stars - they also did not exist when I worked for NDP, or even Metallica - they existed when I worked for NDP as Load was released in August 1996, when Megan was born, but then there was an extended time of no new music as Death Magnetic was released when I worked at Quintrex but its follow-up, Hardwired to Self-Destruct, was not released until I had started working for the University of Iowa - they skipped my time two employers:

1. the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa
2. Pearson

But not Sevendust! They nailed all 5 employers!

1. They released Sevendust when I worked at NDP.
• They did not release an album in 1998, when I worked at JSI for 7 months.
2. They released Home, Animosity, Seasons, Next, Alpha, & Chapter VII when I worked at QDS.
3. They released Cold Day Memory when I worked at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa.
4. They released Black Out the Sun, Time Travelers & Bonfires, and Kill the Flaw when I worked at Pearson.
5. The released All I See is War when I worked at the University of Iowa.

If I come upon other bands that have released new music (that I like!) during my time at my different employers, I will create a post about the band.

This is Me

Oh my goodness! This comic from last week - http://www.gocomics.com/moderately-confused/2018/02/01 - is me!

Today is my 25th anniversary of being hired at Network Data Processing as a Documentation Specialist. My interview on 2/10/1995 was a Friday and scheduled for 9 AM. I talked to multiple people that morning - Vickie Wyatt & Mike Scanlon, Karen Barth, Paulette, and then, I met John Millard, who offered me the position with a starting salary of $17,500. I was a shitty negotiator then as well as now and so I countered with $18,000. He agreed to that salary with the warning that "for that extra $500, you're going to have to work extra hard." I took him seriously.

I've been shaped by many of the people and places I've encountered over the last 25 years. I can look at pretty much any piece of writing and find something I would change. I was in a meeting on January 31, 2018, which seems like yesterday, with my co-worker Teresa. Our task was to design the Knowledge Management process for our department. We were going through existing text in a tool we were using and the laziness of the writing style was infuriating! If you have a heading that says "Do XYZ Task" and an entry field under that has a "Purpose" label, you don't need to start the text that defines "Purpose" with "The purpose of this field is to [verb]..."! When I worked at Quintrex, I would write purpose statements for menu option help text that allowed the user to create and edit records in the system. Early on, I established the standard for these statements. The standard was to frame the first sentence as follows:

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[The purpose of this menu option is to] Establish and maintain...

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I didn't want to repeat "The purpose of this menu option is to" on each of the hundreds of help text topics that were in that help system. I figured that if I established a standard that I then followed consistently, there would never be any confusion as to how to read the statements. I did this also as a passive-aggressive reaction to the way another type of documentation - most people would call them "Release Notes" but Quintrex called them "Explanation of Changes (EOC)" - had no standard. Those documents were a collective effort as each Quality Assurance team member would add an entry in a Word document to describe the project or call report they had tested - search this blog for more information. All of the above comments about Quintrex relates to software documentation.

I do not plan to work another 25 years before I retire - would be 75 years, 2 months, 6 days if I worked until my 50th anniversary of that morning in Cedar Rapids! I do not think that is what I would want to do. I think back to when I graduated from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in May 1992, with my BA in English, minor in Secondary Education. I thought I was God's gift to writing and was likely to grade myself as a 'really awesome' writer. Today, after over 25 years as a professional technical writer, I am likely to grade myself as a 'good plus' writer. I'm definitely more self-aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a writing now than I was then. I look forward to the next NN years to push my writing skills to the next level in my artificially concocted level scheme!

It's About the Money

I will be very truthful when it comes to negotiating salaries. I am very not good at doing so.

• When I was hired on 2/10/1995 at NDP - my first technical writer job, I was offered $17500 as a starting salary and I countered with $18000, mainly because I like round numbers. I should have asked for more, but I didn't because, in the moment, I was ecstatic to be receiving a job offer at noon on the same day I had come in at 8 for my interview. 
• Note: I have worked as a technical writer 9098 days (24 years, 10 months, 4 weeks, 1 day). I am 33 days (1 month, 2 days) from reaching 25 years in my career. I think I will write more about that fact in the future.
• When I left that job to go to Jordan Systems, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered, but was rejected.
• When I left that job to go to Quintrex Data Systems, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered, but was rejected.
• When I left that job to go to the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered. I was given that higher job offer but was told I would need to wait until my 2 year anniversary before I would see an increase in salary.
• When I received my job offer from Pearson, I was prepared. I knew what salary I wanted. When the salary was revealed, it was $10,000 MORE than the highest salary in my head! Literally, I was speechless and did not attempt to negotiate, which goes against all the conventional wisdom when it comes to negotiating a salary.
• When I received my job offer during the job search of 2016 in March 2016 from the U of Iowa, I was prepared. I knew what salary I wanted. When the salary was revealed, I attempted to negotiate for a higher salary but was told no. Thinking quickly on my feet, I asked about the laptop that was going to be ordered for me and if I could have 3 monitors because, at Pearson, I only had 2 monitors and could not have a third monitor due to the graphics card. That was accepted, which is why, today and every day that I go to work, I have 3 monitors.

All of that salary history to say that I'm not good at negotiating my salary.


That is why I was reading Should I disclose my salary history? in an effort to educate myself about how to advise Alex. He had a phone interview with a company in Des Moines for a 2020 Summer Internship. The question came up about how Alex ought to answer the question, "What is your required hourly salary?" For questions like this, I like reading Ask the Headhunter to get perspectives I would not otherwise have in my brain.

Finding Relations

I am in a good mood today and I'm making you, the reader of this post, a promise. Here it is. I will answer this prompt prior to the end of this post:

So who [of the Big Bang Theory characters] do you relate to the most? 

To answer that prompt, here's another question for you. Where were you yesterday and 24 years ago?

I was at 200 5th Avenue in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a job interview at Network Data Processing (NDP). A friend of ours had gotten drunk at our New Year's Eve party on 12/31/1994 and told me all about how great NDP was, which is where he worked. Long story short, my interview was at 8 AM and before noon, I had accepted a job offer from John Millard - I was hired for my first technical writing position on the same day as my interview. These are the companies I have worked at as a technical writer:
NDP
Jordan Systems
Quintrex
the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa
Pearson
University of Iowa, which is where I work now. I spend my workday adding my experience and expertise to two major projects: Disaster Recovery documentation and Knowledge Management.

When I have worked as a technical writer for 24 years, 1 day. My personal plan is to work another 17 years, 1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days (6255 days) here in this department. If I do that, I will reach 20 years of service at the University of Iowa. I will be 66 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days as my 66th birthday will be 12/4/2035, but I would need another 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days (115 days) to reach that 20 years of service milestone.

Over the course of the last 24 years, I have met and gotten to know many fellow technical writers through the Techwr-L list. Tony Chung is one such technical writer - this is his website that I've browsed in the past: https://tonychung.ca/. I know that over the years of my technical writing career, I've corresponded with Tony off-list. I don't know when we have or how often - it's just one of those things I know and you should accept my statements without question! 

It was on Friday, 2/8/2019, when Tony referenced The Big Bang Theory in one of his posts to Techwr-L. His comments about one of my favorite sitcoms prompted me to send Tony an off-list response. I included some links to Youtube.com videos during which Sheldon gives other characters instructions. That IS technical writing - my technical writing jobs have always been about software documentation, which involves a lot of writing instructions that instruct a user how to complete a task within software. While my current two projects are not directly tied to writing software documentation, there is a possibility that I may be able to do so . . . but it's too early to speculate on the likelihood of it happening - it COULD happen, it probably SHOULD happen, but I don't know for certain WHEN it will happen. Regardless, for the majority of the last 8767 days, I have earned a paycheck through working as a technical writer.

Which leads me back to Tony's email and my reply on Friday. I included 2 links (embedded for your convenience). First, there was Sheldon giving Raj instructions:

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And then there was Sheldon giving Penny instructions:

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I really chuckle when I watch that video because it includes this classic line from Penny.

All of that brings me to today. When I got to work today and checked my Techwr-L email account, I read Tony's reply. I immediately began to compose a response, but stopped myself, pasted the original draft of my reply into this blog post and started constructing what you have read to this point. To tie the conclusion of this post to the opening, it was Tony's prompt that caused me to spit these 774 words into this post. Here's my answer:

1. I am not exuding self-confidence (Leonard)
2. I hear a lot of fancy words that people might think I understand but I sometimes don’t but I’m hesitant to call attention to that (Penny)
3. I have a deep affection for comic books, super heroes, Star Wars, and other beloved franchises (Sheldon)
4. I was never a ladies man (Raj)
5. I had a somewhat overbearing mother, though not nearly as overbearing as Mrs. W, and I also married the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met (Howard)
6. I am not usually “thought of” when my friends are constructing plans (Stuart)
7. I am tall (Bert)

Hate the Word "Hit" as UI Text

Many years ago, at Quintrex, I worked with Dean Bathke. We both did work with developing a Windows overlay green screens and, at some time during the time we worked together, Dean said that you "hit the Enter button" to do a search. Maybe it wasn't even the "Enter" button - it could have been "Hit the Add button" to add a widget. It really doesn't matter. Being the snobby wordsmith that I am, I protested and said, "You don't "hit" a button - you press it, you select it, you click it." It's been well over 15 years since I worked with Dean - I cannot say for certain when he left Quintrex - but throughout the time from when we stopped working together and today, whenever I see the word "hit" used in user interface (UI) text as instructing the user to perform an action, as shown below, I think about Dean Bathke and the work we did together, all those years ago, at Quintrex.

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ATH - 13 Lies Employers Tell About Job Offers

I'm pretty sure I've bemoaned not knowing about Nick Corcodilos during my job search in 2016. I think just reading Corcodilos' perspective would have been really helpful during those days between when I was laid off from Pearson and when my current manager offered my current job to me.

While my job search in 2016 has been on my mind this week - and yes, I know it's only Tuesday! - I've also been thinking about my job search in 2011 because I happened to see a "Technical Communication Specialist" opening at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, yesterday. Readers of this blog will recall that the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa company is the label I've given to the company I left Quintrex to join. It's also the company I hated working at. I stayed there for a mere 5 months, 3 weeks, 5 days (177 of the longest days of my E N T I R E  L I F E!!), which is how long it took before I was informed I was not a good fit for the role, which was also called Technical Communication Specialist.

What I noticed in the job ad yesterday were two things:

1. The job description mentions the need to adhere to standards.
• When I was at that company, I asked my co-worker what the standard was for spaces after a period. Her response was "Use one unless it looks funny, then use two." I sincerely hope that isn't a "standard" they are wanting this role to adhere to!
2. The job description mentions that there is a desire to hire a person into this role who has experience with Madcap Software and HTML.
• When I was at that company, my purpose was to write online Help for their budding software products. However, the idea of using another tool, such as Madcap Flare or RoboHelp for that online Help, was off the table because the department used InDesign in the most asinine possible way on the planet. It was interesting to me to see Madcap Software and HTML listed in the job description when those were not options when I was there.

I worked at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and I don't regret anything about the experience. While it's been a whopping 7 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, 3 days (2757 days) since I worked there, I went through the following logic in my head.

1. Had I not left Quintrex for the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, I don't really know if I would have been hired at Pearson. 
1. Had I not been hired at Pearson, I don't really know if I would have had at least two things happen that happened during my time at Pearson. 
1. Professionally, I know that working with Confluence and learning about includes and snippets and variables ignited a passion for my work. I don't know if I would have ever found that renewed passion 
2. Outside of work, I know without a shadow of a doubt that because Pearson sent me to WritersUA 2012 in Memphis, TN, I found the fire within me for playing drums in an Ideal Band was reignited. I don't know if I would have ever met Joe or Matthew, who were in Lou's Classic Ride with me, or if I would have thought to ask Brian Guitar to play guitar in that band with me. It was such a fluke that Brian Guitar's schedule allowed him to be off early on Friday during the summer. Pearson's policy of allowing its employees to work 36 hours M - R and then 4 hours on Fridays  allowed Joe, Matthew, and I to be able to rehearse on Friday afternoons as well.
1. Had I not been laid off at Pearson, I don't really know if I would have been hired here.

As you just read, there is a direct relationship between working at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and what I do now. As I just wrote, absolutely NO, I don't regret anything about the experience. A lot of elements fell into place and for all of those elements mentioned above and being removed by my internal editor as I write these words, without the good and the bad in life, I wouldn't be where I am now. This article by Nick Corcodilos - 13 lies employers tell about job offers - was published today and while not directly related to anything I have wrote above, just knowing about his existence has seemed to somehow reinforce how God has blessed me by being able to live the life I lead.