For Nancy, the MPWC degree helped her define herself as a SME on writing and training.
Where she is now | Nancy E. Oliveira, ’13, is an Instructional Designer for a company that designs, produces, and sells medical products. She primarily writes (or rewrites), edits, proofreads, and formats content for e- learning courses and e-books for training sales reps and healthcare providers. She often spends months at a time working through the lifecycle of an e-learning course or e-book, from mapping out the project’s scope to gathering information from SMEs to drafting the content. She recently worked with a physician assistant to create an e-book for a specific surgical procedure that used one of the company’s products.
How she got there | After her Bachelor’s, Nancy got into customer service, and eventually she moved into a role as a training facilitator, where she began to do more writing. After 16 years, she returned to the MPWC program, and afterwards immersed herself in a career writing training material. Her customer service experience combined with the skills she developed in the MPWC allowed her to write effectively to the needs of multiple audiences. Nancy said, “The most essential skill is knowing how to present yourself as the solution to a problem – and delivering on what you offered.” She has achieved success in her career by positioning herself as a SME on writing and training.
Her advice | Nancy’s coursework prepared her for her career by showing her how to find the facts, get the real story, and present it concisely. Nancy suggests that MPWC students build a strong portfolio of writing samples and “consider how each class assignment would look to a hiring manager”. She also recommends keeping a list of references outside of the program. For students interested in pursuing a similar line of work, Nancy says not to worry about formal job titles; writers come with many titles.
