n021  0750  06 Jun 79
 
BC-CAREERS 2takes
(BizDay)
By ELIZABETH M. FOWLER
c. 1979 N.Y. Times News Service
    NEW YORK - Technical writers are in growing demand, according to Dr.
David Carson, program director of the technical writing program at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.
    Most widely known as an engineering school, RPI offers one of the
nation's few programs leading to a Master of Science degree in
technical writing. Students come from varied and often nontechnical
backgrounds, including English, history and other majors. Some are
teachers seeking new jobs.
    Carson said last week that the Department of Labor estimated a few
years ago that thousands more technical writers would be needed by
1980. He said he also judged that demand was good because of the
starting salaries commanded by graduates of the RPI program - about
$19,000 a year.
    Mark Low, a 1978 graduate of the program who now works for the
Hewlett-Packard Company in the Boston area, agrees.
    ''I think the demand is good. At least half a dozen advertisements
for technical writers appear every week in The Boston Globe,'' Low
said in a telephone interview the other day.
    Carson explained why technical writers like Low had become so
important, especially in the computer field: ''In the old days,
companies used to send out service teams when they leased or sold a
computer, and this staff would explain the operation. Computer
companies cannot afford that now, so the operations manuals have to
be very good.''
    A premedical student who earned a master's degree in physiology, Mr.
Low decided against medical school but did not want to go into
research or work for a Ph.D. His father suggested technical writing,
and he entered RPI. ''I found to my surprise that most prospective
technical writers at RPI did not have a technical background,'' he
said, an observation that Carson confirmed.
    Carson said that his own background included 20 years in the Air
Force, where he learned to fly. However, one of his main jobs was
teaching a course on Shakespeare at the Air Force Academy. Quite by
chance, he was asked to teach a course in technical writing because
of his knowledge of flying. This led to editing ''Introductioj
Aeronautics,'' the academy's basic aeronautical engineering text. He
also has written poetry and short stories. After retirement, he began
to teach technical writing at RPI.
    Carson talks of technical writing as bridging a gap between
technical subjects and the user of a high-technology product, who
might not have a technical background. ''The most important skills
are communications skills,'' he said. ''In a short period we can
train a good writer to know enough about a project to write about
it.''
    He recalls meeting recently with a group of computer experts who
surprised him pleasantly by agreeing that while the ideal technical
writer would have a Ph.D. in computer science plus a master's degree
in writing, ''they would compromise for a master's degree with good
communication skills.''
    (MORE)
    
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n022  0754  06 Jun 79
 
BC-CAREERS 1stadd
(BizDay)
NYT NEW YORK: communication skills.''
    For students taking the technical writing program at RPI, he calls
for ''a happy level of competency.''
    ''When they apply, we ask them for a written statement about their
career plans; most of them run about two to four pages long,'' Carson
said. ''It is all right for them to say that they want to write the
great American novel and work as a technical writer until then.''
Ability to type and some knowledge of computers and word processing
systems can be helpful, he added.
    ''We want to produce graduates who are adaptable,'' Carson said,
adding that students have found a variety of jobs with employers such
as Bell Laboratories and McGraw-Hill Inc.
    ''We made a study of where our graduates have gone,'' he said, ''and
found that 30 percent no longer are in communication posts but have
gone into management, 30 percent have becoublication
departments and 30 percent have remained in the information area.
About 3 percent are not employed.''
    RPI has been teaching technical writing for about a quarter of a
century. About 20 other colleges or universities offer programs,
mostly at the undergraduate level, with courses supplementing a major
in another field, according to Carson. Boston University also offers
a master's degree in what it describes as science journalism. The
University of Minnesota, Texas A&M University and Bowling Green
University are planning or have started graduate programs.
    
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