Student Profile
Jackie Schroeder, 2001
In May 2001, I graduated from Miami’s BATSC program with a specialty area in Medical and Health Science. Throughout the four-year program, I experimented with jobs and internships in some of the several areas for which a degree in Technical Communication prepares students. I had summer-long internships both as a reporter for Sun Newspapers in Valley View, Ohio, and also at LexiComp, a medical publishing company, in Hudson, Ohio. Both experiences were invaluable and reinforced my interest in both technical and medical writing.
After graduation, I began my career at PPI Technical Communications (www.ppitechcom.com) in Solon, Ohio. My transition from college to the professional world was virtually seamless. I immediately noted how the skills that I acquired in school applied to my work. Daily, I refer to the principles and lessons of technical writing that are the cornerstones of Miami’s BATSC program.
PPI is a relatively small company with about 40 employees. We have a unique, departmentalized structure comprised of Writing, Creative Service, Illustration, and Quality Assurance departments. Every project that comes through our office stops in each department throughout its development. My primary responsibility as a writer is to manage projects, act as a client interface, develop the content of publications, and usher projects through PPI’s different departments.
PPI’s client list is long and impressive. I have been involved in projects for General Motors, Philips Medical Systems, FirstEnergy, Timken Latrobe Steel Distribution and Swagelok. Working with such diverse clients is challenging and exciting. The following is a short list of the types of documents and projects that I have written and/or managed at PPI:
- Service documentation for field service engineers working on nuclear medicine equipment
- Computer-based training programs for Perry Nuclear Power Plant supervisors and personnel
- Software training programs for clients
- Advertisements for trade magazines
Daily, I am presented with numerous challenges at work. Often, this novelty is the aspect of my position that I like most. The challenges include constantly learning new subject material, working in new and different software programs, and working with several different clients and projects at once. Although every new project at work involves building a new skill set and mastering different subjects, I am thankful for the knowledge that I got from Miami’s BATSC program.
In addition to the technical writing skills that I built at Miami, the program also taught me how to conduct and manage client projects. Technologically speaking, the BATSC program is excellent in that it requires students to use and be familiar with numerous software packages. The BATSC faculty members are knowledgeable, respected technical communicators who do a phenomenal job of preparing their students for work in technical writing.
The BATSC degree is also good as a stepping stone to a different career. In the fall of 2003, I'll be starting an accelerated BSN/RN program at Cleveland State University. The program is 15 months of full-time study and will earn me both a second Bachelor’s degree and my RN certification. Rest assured, though, this is not the end of my technical writing career. I’m going to stay employed by PPI on a “consultant” basis throughout the summer and whenever they may need me. Also, I hope that earning my RN will only get me closer to more medical writing.