Focused conversation: Future-proofing our careers

Join us for a focused and friendly conversation about how we future-proof our careers as technical writers. As technical writers, we’re used to changing the way we work to accommodate changes in the industries that we support. We routinely refine our tool sets to meet organizational needs. Investing in skills development is an investment in our future. Let’s talk about how we set ourselves up for continued success. How do we meet the demand for empathetic, effective, and up-to-date documentation in an environment that is constantly evolving?

Here are a few questions to get us started:

• What changes in the field of technical writing have you observed in the past decades and years--or months and weeks!!?
• How have you changed the way you work as a technical writer? Share your nostalgia: what do you miss about the way you used to do your work? Share your enthusiasm for change: what do you love about the way you do your work now?
• What external developments have initiated these changes? How have the changes improved your workflow or the quality of your final product?
• What has prompted you to continue to grow and learn? How do you stay motivated?
• Looking ahead, what changes (large or small) do you anticipate, either in the field of technical writing or in the way you work as a technical writer?
• Discussions about the future of software and hardware must include predictions about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation. How does technical writing fit into these predictions?
• How are you preparing for the future? What tools are you experimenting with? What kinds of education and professional development are you investing in?
• Picture yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self?

Our Write the Docs community offers these helpful resources:

• Career Growth: How to overcome challenges and identify opportunities for career development.
• Learning: How to improve our skills as technical writers.
• Book club: Join the #learn-tech-writing channel on the Write the Docs Slack to discuss great books for technical writers.

Bring your thoughts and questions, and attend for as long as your schedule allows. Our goal is to give you an opportunity to support and network with each other.
The discussion is on Zoom. We’ll post the links on the Meetup event by the previous evening. To attend, you must RSVP to the Meetup event. We use the attendees list to screen out Zoom bombers, so it's especially helpful if you have the same display name in Zoom as your name on Meetup.