[Sigia-l] Re: Dreaming of a career in IA: Any advice welcome! (Katie Harter )

[Harter, Katie]

Ariel,

My path into the IA world goes like this: I got a BA in Psychology and
worked administrative jobs through college.  After college, I was able to
market the editing skills I had picked up on the job to get a web editing
job.  I worked on a team with information architects and information
designers and got a good glimpse into their day-to-day work.  I read tons of
books on usability, IA, web design, took continuing ed classes on IA, and
went to workshops through the STC (Society for Technical Communication).
When I got my current job at a small (250+ people) research center, I
volunteered to help out on a web redesign project, and bam!  Before I knew
it I was spending my days with Visio (making site diagrams and wireframes)
on Photoshop (making prototypes) and with lots of paper trying to solve
navigation problems.  I've been the IA here for a year and a half, though it
isn't my job title.  So, have you done any proofreading in your
administrative jobs?  My story is just one of many ways I'm sure you could
break into the field without getting an advanced degree - but getting that
advanced degree I'm sure wouldn't hurt!

Katie Harter