Come meet your fellow STC Alamo members in a fun atmosphere.
Friday June 13th, 2008 5:30 pm to 9 pm
Please RSVP to Carie Joyce <cariejoyce@hotmail.com> by June 10th.
Corner of Vance Jackson and DeZavala
Fox and Hound English Pub & Grille- San Antonio
12651 Vance Jackson Road, Ste 110
San Antonio, TX 78230
Phone: (210) 696-1356
May 13: Grant writing is for the Creative mind. Have fun with it, but hold back that pen! Find out grant writing essentials and how to market yourself.
Our Next Program Meeting
Date: May 13, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. Networking; 7:00 p.m. Program
Location: Cody Library, 11441 Vance Jackson, San Antonio 78230, (210) 696-6396
About the speaker: Evamay Watts has over 20 years experience and progressive responsibility in management, accounting, and budgeting. She currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Fiscal Operations at San Antonio Fighting Back (SAFB), where the organization serves to prevent substance abuse, alcohol, and tobacco use. She is responsible for all the Fiscal Operations of the agency, as well as personnel and grant management. She manages a $1.7 million dollar budget and over 13 programs and 19 personnel.
The Stressed-Out Life will be an eye-opening look at stress that will empower you to make wiser health decisions for you and your families.
Date: April 8, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. Networking; 7:00 p.m. Program
Location: La Madeleine Restaurant, 722 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, 210-524-9900
About the speaker: Dr. Tim Peterson has been speaking to communities in Austin, Amarillo, and San Antonio since 1997. His vision is to give people a new perspective on health and how our bodies are designed to effectively deal with it. Since coming on staff with De Zavala Chiropractic, Dr. Peterson has been reaching out to the community in many ways, but community wellness education takes the highest priority. Over the past eleven years he has spoken to businesses, civic clubs, support groups, fire departments, post offices, schools, and many others. Most recently, he has been presenting a monthly class at Gold’s Gym called ‘Maximizing Your Health & Fitness’.
As of June 2008, I, Debbie Wood, will no longer be volunteering as a leader for the Alamo Chapter. It is time for someone else to take the reins. We need your help. If you want the Alamo Chapter to continue to hold meetings and provide other services, someone needs to step in. If no one volunteers, this chapter will cease operation in July 2008. This means we’ll have to make arrangements with the Office to turn over all our assets, including the money in our bank account.
So that you understand what it takes to keep an STC chapter running, I’m providing brief descriptions of the jobs that need to be done. Also, STC has resources and training available on their website (www.stc.org) to help you. Volunteering for the Chapter is an excellent way to learn new skills. I’ve learned many over the years.
President — Preside over general membership meetings and Administrative Council meetings. Offer guidance and encouragement. With support and help from the Administrative Council, lead the Chapter to accomplish goals set by the Council.
Vice President (Programs) — Traditionally, this position has arranged the program meetings for the chapter, including securing a place for each meeting and a speaker and program. We can remove the programs functions, though, and you can assist the President with strategic planning and leading the Chapter.
Treasurer — Help other officers with budgeting and spending within budgets. Report expenditures and income at Administrative Council meetings. (This position may be combined with Secretary.)
Secretary — Record minutes at Administrative Council meetings and general membership meetings. Distribute minutes. (This position may be combined with Treasurer.)
Programs Manager — Traditionally, this position has been combined with Vice President. However, we can make it a separate position. The person in this position arranges the program meetings for the chapter, including securing a place for each meeting and a speaker and program.
Membership Manager — Be the first person that almost every new member meets. Maintain current membership data. Gently recruit and welcome new members. Provide information to prospective members.
Newsletter Editor — Collect and write articles and produce our newsletter. Publicize meeting dates and places. Distribute newsletter in advance of each meeting.
Webmaster — Update and maintain the Alamo Chapter web site and blog.
Job Bank Manager — Publicize job opportunities to those STC members who wish to receive them. Act as a facilitator for those who seek to hire as well as for those who wish to know about jobs available.
Chapter member Adrian Bretado passed this on to me to post.
Brooke Kalinowski with Aerotek says:
I am looking to fill a Technical Writer position with one of our large engineering clients here in San Antonio. I am looking for someone who has strong technical writing skills and who has preferably had experience writing manuals regarding health and safety policies for a company.
This is a one to two month long contract, but the pay is very competitive. Ideally I need to find someone who is not working and would be able to work full-time for a month or two so please pass my information on to any other Technical Writers you know who may be interested in this opportunity.
Adrian says the job is for Tesoro.
Contact Brooke at:
Brooke Kalinowski
Aerotek CE
Direct: 210-321-1146
Toll free: 800-898-4195
Fax: 210-321-1180
Email: bkalinow@aerotek.com
Date: Feb. 12, 2008 (Tuesday)
Time: 6:00 p.m. networking, 7:00 p.m. program presentation
Speaker: Anne Gentle
Topic: A Technical Writer’s Role in Web 2.0 — Wiki-fy Your Doc Set
Location: Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy
Directions: On Loop 1604, take the Hausman Road/Kyle Seale Parkway exit. DO NOT TURN ON KYLE SEALE PARKWAY. Continue to travel west PAST the Loop 1604/Kyle Seale Parkway intersection to the next intersection, which is Hausman Road. Turn east on Hausman Road and travel to the first traffic light, which is the Kyle Seale Parkway extension inside Loop 1604. Turn right at the traffic light. The library is on your left approximately two blocks from the intersection. (Note: If you use Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps or Mapquest, entering 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway in the search function returns incorrect directions.)
Library Phone Number: (210) 561-6113
How can a wiki be used to build user-centric, user-maintained technical documentation sites that offer thorough and accurate technical information? More than two years ago, I issued a challenge to my colleagues to send me examples of technical documentation in a wiki. I was skeptical that wikis could be used in a meaningful way for technical content. Through tips from coworkers and word of mouth, I found several wikis to study for the types of content that can be placed in a wiki and try to derive best practices for when, why, and how to start a wiki.
Anne Gentle is a senior technical writer at ASI International and blogger at http://www.justwriteclick.com/.
Anne Gentle currently works as a senior technical writer at Advanced Solutions International, which provides management software for professional and social organizations, such as the Society for Technical Communication, of which she is a senior member. She has written a blog for her employer at BMC Software on talk.bmc.com since 2005, and is writing new content for her blog, JustWriteClick.com. She has been a technical writer for over ten years and has acquired many interests in that time, including structured authoring, social media, XML models for technical documentation, such as DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture), blogging, wikis, online user assistance, and writing in an Agile development environment.
Karla Marsh, an Alamo Chapter member, sent me this job posting at GlobalSCAPE (www.globalscape.com). She says it is a local position. You can find the job description on the Careers page on their web site.
Our Next Program Meeting
Date: January 8, 2008 (Tuesday)
Speaker: Ragan Haggard
Location: Cody Library on Vance Jackson and Shenandale Road, 11441 Vance Jackson.
Library Phone Number: 210-696-6396
Time: 6:30 p.m. networking; 7:00 p.m. program presentation
Ragan has been working on an OpenDS documentation wiki for Sun Microsystems (https://www.opends.org/wiki). Ragan will describe how they ported existing documentation into the wiki as well as the decisions made during development.
Ragan will describe:
Ragan hopes to share experience that will benefit others considering the same path.
Ragan Haggard has been a technical writer in the computer industry since 1981 at Texas Instruments in Austin.
This meeting is FREE for all attendees. Drinks and snacks will be provided.
Apply by Jan. 20, 2008
Senior Technical Writer
Description: Document project deliverables such as hardware and software deployment-no API, analysis, or component, but rather systems documents such as setup, installations, configuration, requirements, project planning, organizational documents, training materials, help files, etc.
Requirements:
Desired:
Environment: Offices in a federal building, some flexibility in hours of work, no remote work from home as files may be sensitive, minimal supervision (good time management). The job is on a federal reservation (Fort Sam Houston, TX). Your courtesy, consideration, and willingness to help others will be appreciated. This is not a supervisory or managerial position. Plenty of exercise for your master or Word skills. There is a possibility of moving into project management if desired.
Only highly skilled AND experienced technical writers need apply.
Contact Information: email your resume to Rick Bishop: rick.bishop@austin.rr.com or to kfisher@mnbe.com
What is a Senior Technical Writer?
A “senior tech writer” is not a matter of time on the job, it is a matter of having a higher level of skill and more valuable experience.
Typical for an experienced senior tech writer:
General Dynamics Information Technology
Universal City, TX
Employee Type: Full-Time Employee
Req’d Travel: Not Specified
Industry: Defense - Aerospace
Relocation Covered: No
Manages Others: No
Job Responsibilities:
General Dynamics Information Technology has an opening for a Software Engineering Support Team specialist at the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), Information Systems Directorate, Randolph AFB, Texas. This position will require working with customers and application developers to create, publish, and maintain high-quality software life-cycle development and end-user documentation for new and existing AEF related software applications. Applicant will provide oversight, guidance, and expertise in the following five main areas: technical writing, software requirements management, configuration management, test planning and reporting, and network certification and accreditation.
Required Education:
B.S. in Information Technology, Computer Science, MIS or related discipline required.
Required Work Experience:
Desired Skills:
· 3 years business analyst experience with eliciting software requirements and creating use cases is required.
· Knowledge of UML is required.
· 2 years of progressive technical writing work experience in a software development/integration environment is required.
· 2 years of experience in software test planning, execution and reporting, including development of appropriate documentation and automated-testing scripts.
· Ability to act as a liaison between the customer and developers is required.
· Proven ability to write clear, concise and complete technical material is required.
· Experience working on software development projects in highly regulated environments is desired.
· Must have a demonstrated track record and portfolio of written products in system life cycle-related documentation.
· Advanced skills in the MS Office Professional are required.
· Knowledge of the Sparx Systems “Enterprise Architect” is desired.
· Experience in business process engineering is desired.
· Advanced skills in RoboHelp desired.
· Intermediate skills in HTML and web publishing desired.
· Knowledge of object-oriented programming concepts is desired.
· Familiarity with Air Force terminology and documentation requirements and standards is not required, but would be a strong plus.
· Working knowledge of USAF AEF construct, readiness policies and processes, as well as USAF UTC tasking procedures and related automated systems is a plus, but not required.
Other Desirable Requirements:
Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Accordingly, U.S. Citizenship is required.
Contact: Kara Reynolds, Senior Staffing Specialist
General Dynamics Information Technology
eMail Address: Kara.Reynolds@gdit.com
