just minishorts.

I've actually got a mean set of photographs to show off, and a review of an ultra-cool concept to write about; unfortunately, I haven't had the time to switch on my home computer (yes I blog between work when I can squeeze in some distraction), so we'll wait a bit for that and you just have to bear with the texty-texty rants that fill my fancy.

But enough about that, because I was very tempted to ramble on about my most recent ram in with my mother and the obvious failure I am at dealing with my mid-twenties. I was sifting through boingboing on my bloglines (nifty application, that one) a minute ago and I came across this recommend which led me to Penguin UK's FAQ about its workforce page. Excellent!

Because my friend Vincent is looking for a job (and has got an offer the last I heard), and many people are wondering what it's like to work in different industries, I thought I'll shift away from marriage before another well-wisher comes along and congratulates me for Eric's (non-existent) proposal.

Content Writer
Who are you and what do you do?
I'm a content writer. I write scripts for multimedia products, specifically for educational purposes. I specialise in secondary school English.
What's the first thing you do every morning?
Make a Neslo and read the Bible.
What do you spend most of your time doing?
Surfing the Net and scouring books for teaching ideas to implement in my scripts.
What's the best thing about your job?
The production process, i.e. writing the scripts, and then seeing it transformed into in an interactive multimedia activity. Also, knowing that students and teachers will be relying on it to enhance their teaching-learning experience.
What's the worst thing about your job?
The impossible deadlines. On average, I'm required to produce one lesson script every three days. A lesson script can take up 25-30 full printed A4 pages, single-spaced, Verdana 10 point. Here, we work on a 'the deadline was yesterday' basis, and it kills my shoulders sometimes. It also hampers creativity, and the adrenaline rush is crazy.
What's the department like?
My department has twelve people. There's only one guy. You know what it's like working on an all-women team. (Then again, in my previous company there were seven of us, and only one guy too. I think the industry is women-driven.)
How did you get into your current company (what was your 'break')?
(I understand that some of you would like to keep the company name private, and that includes myself). For my first job, I was working as an editor at a reputable publishing press. I met my current boss on a major project, who offered me a position here. After six months of to-ing and fro-ing, I took up the offer because this place is nearer to home. Plus, I get to write, instead of edit.
Advice to someone who wants to start in the business
I don't think I'm qualified to give solid advice, but if you're still studying and you're hoping to get into writing/editing one day, I say: study very hard, and practise, practise, practise. You need a good degree (preferably English or TESL if you want to specialise in Education) to be considered for the position. Also be ready to be soaked in a seemingly boring world of Grammar and Dictionaries, and boring school teachers. Doing educational materials could just be your alternative to teaching, if you prefer a corporate environment.
I left out this quesiton:What's the salary like?
If you're very very good, you might be able paid by script, and it can go up to 2000 bucks per script. If you're fresh like me, with a bit of negotiation, you get paid a pretty decent monthly salary–one that requires you to pay an illogical amount of income taxes every year. Income tax is illogical!

You might want to try this out in the comments and talk about your job, or if you don't have one yet, your life. I hope this proves to be useful to many people.