The Evolution of a Technical Writer

by Karen Rokich

Ron May did not set out to become a technical writer. His position, he says, "essentially fell into his lap."

In 1983, at the nexus of the IBM Personal Computer revolution in corporate America, Ron graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Information Systems. His first job was in the newly established field of corporate PC and software training.

The printed courseware used by his employer was initially developed in-house by the training staff. When maintenance and ongoing development requirements for the existing courseware became a burden, the company acted to alleviate the strain by creating a new position in courseware development. Ron moved into this position, spending most of his time as a courseware developer, although he was still used sparingly as a trainer. Courseware development was his first exposure to the technical writing profession.

After several years in this position, Ron accepted a new position with Accu-Med Services, a small software company that needed a technical writer to develop a reference manual for their software product.

About the time he completed the reference manual, which he refers to as a huge project, Accu-Med was acquired by Omnicare, a large corporation based in Covington, KY. Ron soon found himself in a corporate IS Department with the title of Technical Writer. His company is still referred to as Accu-Med Services and is a division of Omnicare.

Since his Accu-Med supervisor introduced him to STC and asked him to become a member, Ron has attended all STC annual conferences, from 1999 through last year's Technical Summit in Minneapolis. Recently, he has begun attending local SWO-STC meetings.

At Accu-Med, Ron maintains documentation for multiple software products like online help and printed reference manuals. Since 2003, he has been developing and maintaining computer-based training and Flash-based software demonstrations to enhance the company's software documentation suite.

In his free time, Ron enjoys motorcycles, Ford Mustang cars, learning to play classical guitar, amateur radio (a.k.a. "ham radio"), and fishing.