Stories
Angela Lorenz
Meet Angela
English, B.A., NDSU
Spanish, B.A., NDSU
I’m a documentation operations manager at Precision Planting, a sub-company of AGCO. After other team members write product documentation (install manuals, operator’s guides, etc.), I do the final content read through, standardize the formatting and layout, publish the document online, and coordinate translation when needed. I spent the first decade of my career as a technical writer where I wrote the documents from scratch, which I also loved!
How did your time as an English major prepare you for your current role or your career? You can point to a specific skill, a course you took, or and/or something else entirely.
The courses that connected us with people outside of the classroom were most impactful. I learned about grant writing by working on an actual grant with a local nonprofit. I worked with students in other countries in my international tech writing course. My class visited Microsoft and met with current technical writers there. These experiences taught me professional relationship and project management skills which are essential to my current role.
Most importantly, I landed my first technical writing job from an email that a former student sent one of my professors. She was recruiting for an open role, I was about to graduate, and the rest is history!
What advice would you give to someone considering an English major?
Graduates with an English degree are incredibly well-rounded and great fits for many careers. Because the career paths can vary so much, it’s helpful to have an idea what you’d like to do with the degree so that you can tailor your classes to that. In your first job interviews after college, you’ll need to market yourself to your future employer. The sooner you can start thinking about what skills and experience you’d like to bring to your future job, the better!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Do ALL THE THINGS in college! It’s one of the only times in life where you’re completely free to explore, think on your own, and decide who you want to be. Go out of your comfort zone too—I had never been on a plane before I flew to Spain to study abroad for a semester. I was shy and slightly terrified going into it, but it ended up shaping a lot of who I am today.