I started my job in marketing content writing at SEL on January 1, 2022, transferring out of academia and into industry. I spent over a decade teaching different kinds of writing and content production: academic writing, technical writing, science writing, video and graphic production, writing and design for the web, a whole pile of stuff.
It’s a big change in the profession I report to the IRS (teacher to writer), and there were some big mental changes to go through in the process. But, really, the shift was from teaching others to do a thing to doing that thing myself. I wouldn’t even say that the shift was from teaching to doing generally, because the skills I used to persuade students that some process or tool was the most effective for their project are the skills I use now to write about products and technologies.
So, what are the big takeaways from this year? The key to good blogging is to be succinct and break big things into smaller chunks (gotta get more clicks somehow), so here’s a preview of what’s coming from this thread:
Did I solve my work/life balance problems? Hell yes, I did.
Does academic work prepare you for industry? In ways I would not have expected.
What does a content writer write? Everything. Nothing.
How important was peer review, really? Very, but not for the reasons we say out loud.
Would I make the change again? Click to find out.
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