Mine Time

*.How important is writing in your field?

Although writing doesn’t play a major role directly in my daily routine, it is a key part in communicating with colleagues, customers, and management.

2.What percentage of your time do you spend writing at work?

I would say between 25-40% of my time is spent writing: making notes for future reference, drawing up plans for the team to perform their tasks, and reporting to management accomplishments/hold-ups/schedule.

3.What kind of documents do you write most often?

Most often I find myself writing notes/comments to save myself some time.

4.Do you believe recent college graduates are well prepared to write?

I believe recent college graduates are well prepared for effective writing in my field – sometimes they just lack the experience to write effectively.

5.Did college writing classes teach you all that you needed to know in order to write well at work?

I was not fully prepared directly out of college. In my organization, test engineers communicate results of tests in reports, and technical writers assist with drafting formal language for a test report.

6.What are the most common writing problems you see at work?

One of the most common writing problems I see is lack of clear communication. Engineers are often very good at what they do, but not as good at explaining how things work. Proper documentation is often not provided.

7.How have you improved your workplace writing skills?

Over the years, I’ve taken time to understand my strengths and weaknesses as a communicator – including written communication.

8.On a scale from 1-10 (1 being poor and 10 being excellent), how would you rate your current workplace writing skills and why?

I would rate myself as a 7 or 8 with regards to workplace writing skills. There is always room to improve, but I would consider myself effective at writing communication.

9.Did anybody in your field help you learn how to write for a workplace or was it a skill that you were expected to know coming into your career?

A colleague of mine, an expert in configuration management, has helped me bolster my writing skills. I think overall, expectations are relatively low. It is more important to be proficient at performing duties.

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