I've been accepted into a local certification program to study technical writing and programming.

I suspect this will open a lot of doors--everything from the sorts of jobs I want to pursue professionally to the possibility of eventually pursuing graduate programs here in California. (Which has been an issue beforehand because my adviser and major professor passed away without leaving me a letter of recommendation. Though I'd give up the letter just to have her alive. :))

I knew it wasn't going to be a huge issue to get accepted. I mean, my graduate transcript lists a 4.0 GPA. The only problem would be if the college was overloaded because of the economy.

Well.

*happiness*
*relief*

It's true that if a girl (or guy) can write well it's likely she can get her foot in the door in the tech writing world. Or at least it was true. However, I am light on references and experience. Right now most employers are so saturated with applicants that a girl needs to have that extra something, or several somethings, to land a job. Currently, based on my research at Dice and Simply Hired, junior positions in the Bay Area are requiring skills and experience usually held by mid-level technical writers. Most jobs listed are for senior tech writers with highly technical skills, like documenting APIs or in-depth knowledge of Java.

It's my hope this certification will help me network, get those extra references and experience I've been lacking, and stack up some extra somethin somethins that will make me more appealing to employers.

And all for $17 a credit hour, which is utterly fabulous and affordable, even for me.