In Hartford, yes--well, when I was at Quodatabar for the Y2K fiasco, they did. I don't know what they offer ... I just remember it cost a Gozillion bucks to take classes there.

Cheers,

Sean

Doesn't RPI still have a remote CT 'campus'? I'm wondering if the techcomm curriculum is supported there.

Best way is to dive right into whatever you have at your fingertips. Read up on the Chapter web site, blog, discussion list, whatever they provide. Introduce yourself (as you did here), attend meetings, booze, schmooz, etc. There is no formal process to social networking - you make it happen however you're comfortable and however you find it to be effective.

- The Ubiquitous Bill

And by "that should tell us", I didn't meant to include me in "us". But someone else here might know, especially now that we have some specifics.

Also -- and I should have thought of this earlier -- whoever at the manufacturer's company is in charge of ensuring that the *equipment* is compliant with the necessary regulations may also be able to give you some leads on what needs to go into the operation manuals.

Might that depend on what sort of heavy equipment it is? That would at least tell us which regulatory bodies oversee the area of concern.

I'm actually looking into online based Master's programs (I have an undergrad), so it doesn't matter if they're in CT or not I guess. I saw the New Jersey Institute of Technology has one, as well as some other schools (I think Northeastern has a great online MA, as well - but it's rather expensive!!).

I still have a lot more research to do on this...! Thanks for your feedback.

This is a great idea that would definitely help me broaden my knowledge of different tools for the field. I know that local universities offer such classes, but I'm wondering if there are also online classes for these types of specified training? That'd be something that I would definitely look into.

If you're still thinking about trying some of the certificate programs there are some ways to weed out the good from the bad. Who's teaching the course? If they are a practitioner, how are they qualified to teach such a course? Have they been practicing this topic for a long time or are they considered an expert by a field of colleagues? What is the delivery method? If it is a statically-delivered set of lectures, you'd do just as well buying a book. But if it's interactive--real time video or text-based lectures and discussion--it will probably be a better experience. Also, how accessible is the instructor? I took a couple of classes years ago and had a problem with the instructor dropping off the face of the earth, he simply posted his lecture and never answered emails or discussion threads.

Wow. I think for now in regards to the "Tech Writing" field as a whole, I'll stick to books on the subject matter than wasting money on online courses that might not necessarily help me or teach me anything new. But a Master's program in either Professional Writing or Technical Writing is definitely what I'm aiming for.

Thanks for all your help! You must be either a professor or instructor yourself, I'm assuming?

Cherie

Loss is a very kind way of putting it, but, yes.

If you post on the blog, there's a delay while your first post is approved, but you should experience no delay thereafer.

Cheers.

Yes, actually. Thank you. The web site I was visiting was the same as the one you googled, but I never saw the chapter blog (stcct.wordpress.com).

I'm actually planning on attending the meeting next Wednesday so I can be up-to-speed with how the chapter works.

Was that the Manchester loss you were referring to??