Major: Technical Communication
Class: 2011
Hometown: Oshkosh, Wis.
Favorite food: Thai
What is your favorite store/place to shop? Downtown Books on Wisconsin
What was your favorite class? Marketing Communications or Japanese/ Dr. Howell or Kojima
Beyond academics, what have you learned at MSOE? How to survive in the real world
Activities involved in: Internship at WE Energies, Volunteer w/ elderly, Campus Volunteer Services, Peer Mentor
Scholarship: Presidential Scholar
Top 3 things you liked about being MSOE student:
- Being surrounded by a technical environment and an engineering-oriented student body. Technical communicators must be versed in the most cutting-edge technology, and we are almost guaranteed to be working closely with engineers for our careers. Being an MSOE student guarantees future employers that we are experienced and prepared.
- The professors. Because the school is smaller, we build very strong relationships with many of our professors and advisors. Networking is the key to landing a good job, and the professors are more than willing to help you make connections and find internships.
- The atmosphere. MSOE is a small and close-knit campus, but it is situated right in the middle of downtown Milwaukee. Thre is always something going on downtown, and entertainment is only a short walk or bus ride away.
Benefits of MSOE degree:
The main goal is giong for a college degree is to land your dream job afterwards, and a Technical Comm. degree from MSOE is the best decision you can make when reaching for that goal. Students in the Technical Communication program at MSOE are not only immersed in writing and communication, but also gain technical and engineering knowledge and experience from the type of environment they are in. Future employers know that MSOE TC grads have an engineering back ground, and that they are prepared to work as the communication bridge between engineers and laypeople. I have already been interning with a technical company for a year, and I know that I will have no problem finding a great job after graduation because of my MSOE education.
What is the one thing you want prospective students to know?
If you are willing to work hard, a degree from MSOE guarantees you will get a great job in a great company. My experiences here both inside and outside of the classroom have helped me to build my resume, and my connections with the professors and staff have helped me to build my professional network. Upon graduating, I will be fully prepared to enter my dream career.
In November 2010, Emily received a scholarship to attend the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) conference held in Milwaukee. Read about her experience below:
What prompted you to apply for the scholarship to attend the AMWA Conference?
As fate would have it, an MSOE alumnus who worked as a medical writer came to talk to one of my technical writing classes last spring. Her presentation inspired me to let her and my professor, Dr. Katherine Wikoff (General Studies), know that I wanted to do exactly that—medical writing. Dr. Wikoff encouraged me to further explore medical writing and introduced me to the American Medical Writer’s Association (AMWA) and the AMWA Journal. Then we discovered that the AMWA National Conference was to be held in Milwaukee, and I knew that it was all meant to be. Even though it seemed like a long shot because I was not a doctoral or even a graduate student, I decided to apply for the scholarship offered to attend the Conference. I knew that I had (and still have) so much to learn and so many skills to develop before I could get into the medical communication field, and I hoped that applying for the Scholarship and attending the Conference would open an infinite number of doors for me as well. It certainly has!
Are you interested in pursuing a career in medical writing? What is it about the field that you find interesting?
Yes, I am definitely planning on pursuing a career in medical writing after graduation. In fact, I have been actively pursuing job opportunities in the health care industry, both from contacts I established at the conference and companies I have found on my own. Medical writing is fascinating to me because of the substantial and direct role it plays in all aspects of medicine. Medical writers are directly responsible for so many critical things that people outside of the medical industry rarely think of: regulatory documents (clinical trial reports, New Drug Application submissions, protocols, etc.), grant proposals, white papers, device documentation and training, and so much more. I encourage anyone interested in learning more about the field to visit AMWA's website and check out all of their “About Medical Communication” resources.
How was the conference, did you enjoy attending it? What did you learn from it?
The week of the conference was definitely one of the best weeks of my life! I had fun, learned so many new things, added many great people to my network and, most importantly, figured out what I want to do for the rest of my life. Part of the Scholarship included the costs for three workshops, so I took Introduction to the Medical Device Industry, Organizing the Medical Paper, and Creative Process in Pharmaceutical Advertising. They were a lot of work (the pre-Conference homework killed me during midterms!), but I gleaned so much great information from every one. I also attended many open sessions, speakers, receptions, dinners and luncheons, and showed many out-of-towners the best places to visit in Milwaukee. The whole event was just so incredibly inspiring; I am so lucky to have been able to attend and get involved with AMWA.
What do you hope to do now that you're graduated?
I definitely plan on entering the health care industry. I have connections with many medical writers and their companies all over North America, and I have been setting up interviews with ones I am seriously interested in. In the meantime though, there are quite a few other great companies that have offered me positions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or medical software industries. Many of those jobs involve travel as part of the normal work week, so that is a definite plus for me. It is just so great how many different opportunities there are for myself and all medical writers out there! Many jobs have been hit hard lately, but medical writing (and technical writing in general) just keeps growing, and I am so thankful for that.
Anything else that you’d like to add?
I encourage anyone who has questions about medical writing or the technical communication program at MSOE to visit me on my LinkedIn page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyljohnson