AFSNews Careers Column February 1997

Careers

Eleanor Wachs earned her Ph.D. in folklore at Indiana University's Folklore Institute. She is currently a technical writer at Kurzweil Artificial Intelligence, a small but leading-edge voice-recognition software company that makes VOICE for Windows and a host of medical reporting products. She has agreed to share some of her insights for this column.

Why did you choose to study folklore? What was the focus of your studies and research?

I chose folklore because I had been interested in different cultures, traditions, and narratives ever since I was a child. I was strongly influenced by growing up in New York City and by my parents' having friends from many different cultures. Certainly, the folksong revival in the 1960s was a major influence, as was a folklore course I had at Hunter College and working and living at Shaker Village in upstate New York.

Most of my research has been on narrative, personal experience stories, urban folklore, and legends.

What are the key skills that you learned or developed as a folklorist?

How to interview people and conduct fieldwork. I learned how to go into a new situation and search out materials about a particular subject. I "learned" how to teach; but no one actually teaches you that. You develop your own teaching style.

How did you get into your current line of work?

After leaving a teaching job at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, I decided I wanted to stay in the Boston area. The key employers are higher education, high technology, and biotechnology. I became curator of exhibits at the state history museum and then state folklorist at the Massachusetts Cultural Council. I was laid off from both jobs because of the state's severe budget crisis.

I had been using computers since 1983 to make and design exhibits and felt comfortable with them. Since the future for folklore jobs was dim and I didn't want to move, I enrolled in a certificate program in technical writing at Northeastern University. The program featured courses on hardware, computer programming, and writing.) Immediately after completing the certification requirements, I was hired by Lotus Development Corporation and worked on documenting Notes 3.0. From there, I went on to other full-time positions. I started working at KAI in May 1996. Each time I made a move, I moved up to a more interesting (and more lucrative) position. I have learned and now use such high-end publishing tools as FrameMaker and RoboHelp.

What does your work entail? How do you use your skills as a folklorist in your job?

I currently write software manuals and design and write reference cards for medical reporting products that use voice recognition. (A doctor talks into a microphone, says some key words, answers prompts, and a medical report is produced.) I also create on-line help systems, and I am starting to become interested in creating and designing World Wide Web pages.

I use my folklore skills just about every day. I am constantly interviewing software developers on aspects of products that users need to know. It's like doing fieldwork. You have honed your interviewing skills, know how to jump in and ask a question, and then take that information and interpret it for someone who may not know much about it. Isn't that what folklorists do when they interview an artist and then explain some key aspects of his or her work in a format such as an exhibit? In addition, using high-end publishing tools and lots of files, I have to rely on skills similar to those of an archivist to organize information and make it accessible.

My skills as a folklorist are still there!

I am also collecting materials for a book on computer culture and folklore. It's amazing how much lore there is among groups like developers and tech writers. I'm in a great place to collect this lore and interpret it. I look forward to the time when I can sit down and write a book about this interesting culture.

Have you experienced any criticism from other folklorists for "selling out"?

Selling out? I don't think so. I have found a way to transfer my skills to an exciting profession, learn new technologies, and know that there is work to do. There is a great demand for tech writers today.

Please note that I still do folklore. I have continued to teach part-time, give workshops, write reviews, collect computer lore, help with exhibits, and even pursue on-line projects that have folklore components.

I am also involved in the Society of Technical Communicators and have worked on the conference committee for the annual regional tech writers conference. I used the skills I developed as an AFS meeting chairperson. I wouldn't give up my folklore interests. But, given the lack of folklore jobs, I am glad that I have selected another career that has promising career opportunities and sparks my interest in the latest computer technologies.

If you have suggestions for future columns, please contact me at Career Services, Lucina Hall, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306 (tel: 765/285-2430; fax: 765/285-3757; e-mail: 00jpgoodwin@bsuvc.bsu.edu).

For general information about career planning and conducting a job search, as well as a variety of other resources, visit Career Services' World Wide Web site at http://www.bsu.edu/careers/home.html.