no

What is your background? What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

BA/University of South Carolina. 20 years experience in the field of technical communication; 9 in management

How did you get started in this field?

Computer operator asked me to write up the step required to run a specific job.

What college (if any) courses have been most helpful for your career?

Unfortunately, as many people did in this professional, I came in the back door. Until very recently (last 10 years) there have only been a limited number of academic institutions providing formal education in technical writing.

What are your specific responsibilities?

I manage 20 writers, who write repair and maintenance manuals for the attractions in all the Disney Parks. We are currently working three new parks: Disney's California Adventure which just opened in February; Tokyo Disney Seas opening September 4; and Paris Disney's Studio opening in April 2002. Between these three new parks we will have issued over 300 new manuals.

Describe a typical workday and workweek. What do you do during a typical day?

Monitor the work loads of the individual writers; review project and overhead budgets; respond to request for information from the Parks and our own company, Walt Disney Imagineering, attend meetings on current and future projects.

Name 5-7 job skills that are needed for your job.

1. Communicate well. Listen well.
2. Have a clear understanding of your company's and boss' goals
3. Good business sense (budget, spending, job estimating)
4. Strong leadership
5. Confidence of my own abilities as a manager.

Are you in a team-oriented position?

Absolutely. The teams where I participate are overlapping circles: my team of writers, the project teams, the division team, and the company team.

Do you have flextime? Vacation time? Work at home? Telecommute?

I do set my own hours, but I normally work a 10 to 12 hour day. Vacation time is 2 weeks a year. And I can work at home -- limitedly. As most of my day is spent communicating with individuals and there are many "hall meetings," it is difficult to work at home on a consistent bases.

How many hours per week are expected or warranted for peak performance?

45 to 50

Are many evenings or weekends required for your job?

2 evenings a week and one weekend a month

How much travel is involved with a job in your field?

6 weeks a year

Could you give me examples of projects that you are working on?

See responsibilities

Could you describe your work settings? Offices, machinery, resources etc.

Private office, laptop computer, fax machine, printer, and telephone. One administrative assistant

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

What is the major challenge you face at work?

Keeping a positive outlook when you are outnumber 10 to 1 as a woman manager in a very male dominated environment.

What aspects of your job do you find most rewarding? (Pros) Least rewarding? (Cons)

Working with the people is my most rewarding job and my most challenging job.

Are you confronted with difficult decisions or situations in your position?

Yes

Do you have a lot of interaction with a certain occupation? I.E. media, engineers, etc.

electrical and mechanical engineers

What is the Female to Male Ratio in your position/field?

In my field, the ratio of female to male is 6/3.

Describe the changes taking place in your field. Project future trends?

The field of technical communication or information management is a growing, vibrant field. One survey cited that there would be 30,000 jobs as technical writers that go unfilled in the next 10 years.

What is the turnover rate like in your field?

Turnover in technical writing depends on the field that it is supporting. In the software world, turnover is high as it is with programmers. In other fields, such as the medical field, the turnover rate can be ver y low.

Do you think women avoid technical careers? What do you think can be done to encourage girls to get more involved in the technology field?

Provide strong role models and have them in front of junior high students to show the diversity of jobs women can experience.

Do you believe that women will be in more technical jobs in the future?

Absolutely

Do you have any advice for women and girls that are interested in going into the field?

Find a role model. Take every math and science course that you can.