The Perks of Procedure Writing

When I first asked to interview my friend Brian about his job as a procedure writer, I thought I knew what to expect. Boy was I wrong! I expected to learn about the dull world of monotonous manuals, but instead I found that procedure writing is a lot like writing a choose-your-own-adventure book. Procedure writing has a lot of perks, and, fortunately, the jobs are plentiful – an important consideration in today’s job market.

The first thing you need to know about procedure writing is that it yields incredible networking opportunities. As a writer, you will meet regularly with the heads of every department as they discuss a new procedure, and they will know you by name. You will get to sit in on meetings with all the top dogs, offer your opinions, and make connections. This type of direct association can be your ticket to the top of the ladder. In addition, you will meet experts in many fields as they give you the knowledge you need to complete your work. As the saying goes, “it’s not what you know. It’s who you know.”

The second perk of the job is its salary potential. English majors will be glad to hear that not all writing jobs will doom them to a life of Ramen noodles for dinner. A good writing sample and great cover letter can land you a job paying $30,000 – $50,000 per year. That’s not a bad salary, especially for a recent college graduate. The pay can depend on several factors, including how much experience you have, who your employer is, and whether you work on a contracted or salaried basis.

The requirements of a job like this are fairly reasonable. Even though the tasks can be complex and involved, it is common to find entry-level positions. Many state a requirement of three to five years of experience, but don’t let that discourage you; apply anyway. Bring a writing sample and a winning smile with you, and you might get lucky. A bachelor’s degree is likely necessary, and you get bonus points if you have some technical experience, too.

Overall, procedure writing isn’t a bad place to begin a writing career, and it might just get you the right connections for your next, bigger job. It’s a perfect start for recent graduates or career-changers. In addition, it can set you up with great connections and a wealth of writing samples. If you like the nitty-gritty details, then procedure writing might just be the job for you.

Wanted: Professional Writers in Science Fields

How does a typo lead to unexplained cell death? How does the slope of a line cause a plane to crash?

Questions like these arise from errors made in textbooks that are not caught by copyeditors before the book is published. As a student, I am barely staying afloat amid the sea of textbooks I must master before earning my degree. Just one error in a key formula or math problem could be detrimental to my understanding of the key concepts I will need to apply in the workforce.

Say, for instance, that someone makes a simple typo while composing a chapter regarding biological membranes, turning a hypotonic solution into a hypertonic solution. The problem here is that hypertonic solutions cause blood cells to shrink, while hypotonic solutions cause them to expand and burst. Think of the potential consequences of a doctor treating patients with blood disorders who confuses when cells shrink and when they burst. This kind of copyediting error, while small, could be disastrous if it leads to unexpected cell death.

Or, for example, that someone records the slope of a line incorrectly on a diagram of the cooling process for heated materials like nickel super alloys, which are used in the composition of turbine discs in jet engines. The slope of the lines correlates to the path of cooling. An inaccurate slope would lead a scientist or engineer to expect a different response to heat treatment than what happens in reality. This means that we could have jet engine parts degrading earlier in the life cycle than expected. The disc breaking would cause catastrophic failure in the jet engine, crashing the plane, most often during takeoff or landing.

From cell death to plane crashes, small errors in textbooks can have a huge impact.  Yet these errors are extremely prevalent in science related textbooks – textbooks that we pay $150-$200 for. Shouldn’t we hold these valuable resources – the basis of our education – to higher standards?  How can we be held accountable to be knowledgeable in our fields of study if the material we are being taught from is subpar?

This just goes to show how important it is to have professional writers in science related fields.  If you have any stories about errors in textbooks, I would love to hear them.