Rachel Amity Brown graduated from the MSTC program in 2016 and now works as a Tech Ethics Education Program Manager in the Chief Privacy Office at IBM where she sets the education strategy for AI ethics. Rachel completed her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary English Education then realized she had a passion for teaching and helping people learn new things while also helping them identify and solve problems.
While looking for other options for her English degree that would allow her to work with a wider variety of individuals, Rachel sought advice from some professors and eventually joined the MSTC program at NC State.
“I found the Master of Science in Technical Communication program at NC State, and it seemed like it would open a lot of doors to opportunities where I could have a career building content and helping people learn new things. I had a blast at State for two years and loved every minute of the program!”
During her second year in the MSTC program, Rachel earned a co-op at IBM as an information developer working on “classic tech comm” as part of the docs team. Her connections made during her co-op ultimately helped her land her role in the Security Business unit as Knowledge Manager. She held that role until moving into her current role with the Chief Privacy Office last summer.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity by Adrienne Nip, the 2021-22 TCA President.
Q: What was your favorite MSTC class or elective?
A: ENG 515, Rhetoric Of Science and Technology. Through the course, I learned about how knowledge comes to be – how knowledge is created, contested, bought into, and verified over time. This course helped me consider how we create different pieces of communication through audience analysis.
I also learned a lot from ENG 508, Usability Studies for Technical Communication. The course allowed me to work on several small scale usability projects. Some content teams at IBM don’t have a dedicated usability person, so having experience from this class has allowed me to consider usability in content strategy and design within my team.
Another fun class was ENG 525, Variety in Language. This was an elective, and as someone who minored in linguistics in undergrad. I enjoyed taking this course as it is outside the tech comm realm and allowed me to think about language in a different way.
Q: What does a day in your life look like for you at work?
A: Some members of the Project Office team are specialists in governance and regulation, some are data scientists who look at ethics and data science initiatives, one is a communications specialist, another is an enablement specialist, and I am the only education specialist. We’re an Agile team, so we typically start our day off with a 15-20 minute team standup where we meet to compare notes, understand how we may need help from one another and where our work may overlap with the responsibilities of other members of the team.
On a typical day, I also meet with 1-2 SMEs or stakeholders in different projects to either touch base or ask questions or for input on their projects. Projects often require review from SMEs, so I am in close contact with them throughout the day. I usually have two to three projects going on at the same time.
The other part of my day is spent at my keyboard where I work on developing content, looking at feedback, revising my work, putting information into a course authoring tool, etc.
Q: Do you have any tips or advice on working effectively with SMEs?
A: Working with SMEs is almost one of the hardest parts of information development and knowledge management. I suggest that before any project begins, host an informal kickoff with the SME to get to know them and spell out requirements for the project’s goals, timelines, and expectations to ensure everyone is on the same page. I’ve found that it helps if your first point of contact with the SME isn’t asking them for something.
Also take detailed notes. It’s helpful to have something to reference and reread after you’ve finished meeting with the SME. Also, don’t be afraid to ask the SME for clarification or ask questions – it’s important that you get the information right!
Q: What kinds of responsibilities/tasks do you handle for your current role/position?
A: I work on internal projects where I help IBMers learn more about AI ethics, how to think ethically on the job, and how to follow methodologies to ensure they’re building and working ethically with AI.
I also work on external projects where I publish education content about AI ethics for a variety of audiences over different outlets, such as K-12 students, over PTech, the Skills Build Portal, or on Coursera for a general worldwide audience. This content helps an external audience consider how they can work with AI ethically around the world and assess the ways AI is being used in their lives.
Q: What kinds of technology do you use most often at work (software, languages, apps, sites, etc.)?
A: Slack, Trello, Camtasia, Snagit, and You Learning (LMS).
Q: Do you follow/operate within a project management model, which one, why/how?
A: I work as part of an Agile team where we have a dedicated project manager. We use Trello to see our sprints and backlog, and helps us understand what needs to be delivered and when. This is my first time working on an Agile team – I previously worked on a Waterfall team – and one of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that everything feels like it moves so fast!
Q: Most rewarding/favorite aspect of what you do?
A: My favorite aspect is getting to the point of publishing where I can see the intended audience access and interact with the piece, as it feels like my hard work and time is paying off. Content development is so many cycles of outlining, doing interviews, drafting, getting feedback, revising the draft, and sometimes cycles feel endless, though they are necessary.
Behind the scenes, you’re creating content for your intended audience with SMEs, stakeholders, and other team members, but you aren’t delivering your content to the end user yet. Getting the content out to real users is big, and what it’s all about – plus, you get to receive real user feedback!
Q: What are some current challenges faced in your position?
A: AI is ubiquitous, and AI ethics is evolving so quickly that there are lots of gray areas where topics are actively being debated. For example, facial recognition, AI-powered hiring tools, and many other controversial new topics and AI-related capabilities are still evolving.
In developing content, different stakeholders always have different opinions and different priorities. While we’re grateful for these stakeholders and their feedback, so much of the space is evolving that we often receive contradicting feedback and input. Trying to find a compromise between differing opinions can be challenging, and sometimes there’s no good way to do it. What I’ve learned is that it’s important to cast a wide net for feedback and to reach out to many SMEs and stakeholders.
Q: How have you seen the role of TCer (or their specific role) change or evolve?
A: I’ve sensed a bit of a scope change in what tech comm is, or at least what employers expect communicators to be able to do. I’ve been asked to do everything from documentation writing, information architecture, presentation design, webinar planning, video creation, blogging, social media management, course design/instructional design, to curriculum development. I’m seeing that the role of a technical communication professional is becoming wider and isn’t just about documentation – this opens the door to a lot of cool opportunities for tech comm professionals.
Q: How has your role/TC changed as a result of/throughout the pandemic?
A: I’ve been working from home since 2016, so not a lot has changed for me. I have noticed some people show signs of Zoom fatigue and heard anecdotes about video fatigue, where sitting down and watching an interview video or an instructional video is difficult for some people.
We’ve had to be creative and truly consider how our users are consuming their media and the social context where this media consumption occurs. We’ve also been more mindful when developing courses, ensuring we do not overwhelm or overload our users with videos, and including short videos where we can.
Q: What skills/knowledge/abilities do you value most in those TCers you work with or hire?
A: I admire the work of people who are great listeners and those who ask meaningful and insightful questions because they’ve listened. This is an especially important skill as a technical communicator, as you need to know how to ask good questions when meeting with SMEs or stakeholders.
Q: Do you have any networking advice or TC-specific resources?
A: I would say it’s worth connecting on LinkedIn with the people you work with. It’s been helpful to have been connected with people who I worked with at IBM and other MSTC friends – these dormant connections can be valuable as you’re looking for resources or new opportunities.
Q: Biggest piece of advice to students in the program/in school and preparing to enter/re-enter the industry?
A: Definitely talk to your professors – while I was in the program, I took for granted that there would be people always up for a conversation about theory and rhetoric, and those opportunities do not exist as much in the workforce.
To the students in the program, know that technical communicators are important – without the work that technical communicators do, no organization can be successful!
I’d also say that as you’re looking for work, make sure you keep an open mind about the hard and soft skills you’ve gained from being in the program. Don’t get discouraged!