Ray Kim

Technical writer and trainer -- my job is to make other people's jobs easier

Troy, New York, United States

Ray Kim is an advocate for documentation and technical communication. He is a co-founder of the Albany, NY SQL group (CASSUG) and a member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). He has spoken at PASS Summit and STC Summit, as well as numerous SQL Saturdays and other events. He has worked various positions in technology, including as a developer, webmaster, analyst, technical writer, and instructor. He holds an MS in technical communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in computer science from Syracuse University. He currently works as a technical writer and trainer for The Research Foundation for SUNY.

A musician in his spare time, Ray plays four different instruments (piano, clarinet, mallet percussion, saxophone). He also enjoys going to ball games and doing CrossFit, and is a two-time SQLServerCentral.com fantasy football champion. He lives in Troy, NY with his wife, Lianne, and their tuxedo cat, Bernard.

Area of Expertise

Humanities & Social Sciences
Information & Communications Technology
Media & Information
Business & Management

Topics

Documentation
technical writing
Technical Communication
Business Communications
Effective Communication
Communication
Communicating with Clarity
Networking
Business Networking
Professional Networking
Job Search
Soft Skills
Blogging
SQL Server

Blogging for Success: Advancing your career by blogging

Ever wanted to start a ‘blog, but have no idea how to do it? It’s easier than you think! A number of people have become successful by writing ‘blog articles. I originally started my ‘blog to supplement my presentations. Since then, it’s taken on a life of its own.

In this presentation, I’ll tell you how I got started with ‘blogging, where it’s taken me since then, and lessons I’ve learned along the way. We’ll discuss ‘blog platforms, how to get started, what to write about, and what to do (and what NOT to do) when writing articles.

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed

You’ve just been told by HR that you are no longer a part of their organization. You’ve been kicked to the curb. You are now living in the no-man’s land called unemployment.

Unemployment is a scary situation. You’re dealing with emotions and uncertainty. You don’t know if you’ll be out of work for days, weeks, or months.

Fortunately, unemployment is survivable. In this session, I’ll share my own experiences (and perhaps we’ll talk about some of yours) with unemployment, and how I managed to get through the tough times. We’ll discuss emotional impact, the job hunt, and things you can do to get yourself through this tough time. Hopefully, you’ll land on your feet once again before long!

Networking 101: Building professional relationships

Networking. You keep hearing that word throughout your career development, but you don’t know much about it, much less, how to do it. You want to connect with technical and data professionals, so you attend events such as Data Saturday and your local user group. But what about your book club, your gym, your church group, or your kid’s soccer game? Those are prime — and overlooked — opportunities to network!

In this interactive session, we will discuss networking — what it is, why it’s important, and where opportunities exist. You will even have an opportunity to practice networking within the confines of our room. You might even leave this session with new networking contacts that you didn’t previously have! Bring business cards if you have them!

Disaster Documents: The role of documentation in disaster recovery

I was an employee of a company that had an office in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Prior to that infamous date, I had written several departmental documents that ended up being critical to our recovery. In this presentation, I provide a narrative of what happened in the weeks following 9/11, and how documentation played a role in getting the organization back on its feet.

While other disaster recovery presentations talk about strategies, plans, and techniques, this presentation focuses on the documentation itself. We will discuss the documents we had and how they were used in our recovery. We will also discuss what documents we didn’t have, and how they could have made the process better.

So you want to be a presentation speaker?

Are you interested in presenting at user groups or conferences? When I attended my first SQL Saturday in 2010, I realized that I wanted to contribute — but I didn’t know how. I spoke at my first SQL Saturday in 2015. Since then, I've spoken at various events such as PASS Summit, STC Summit, and WE Local conferences, and it has had a tremendous impact on my career!

In this presentation, I’ll take you through my journey from attending my very first SQL Saturday to becoming a regular presenter at numerous events. We'll discuss the benefits of speaking, how you can get started, and things you can do to improve your craft. Hopefully, we'll see you presenting at a conference very soon!

Tech Writing for Techies: A Primer

Documentation is one of the most critical, yet most blatantly ignored and disrespected tasks when it comes to technology. Businesses and technical professionals ignore documentation at their own risk. This session discusses what tech writing and documentation is about and why it’s critical for business. It also explores possible reasons for why it’s ignored, how documentation can be improved, and how “non-writers” can contribute to the process.

Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

Many tech professionals are faced with the challenge of explaining technical concepts to people who don’t understand technology. And only a few are able to do it well. This session provides some strategies and suggestions to go about bridging the technological knowledge gap. With time and practice, a technical person can serve as an effective interpreter of technical concepts. This is an interactive session; audience participation is expected and encouraged!

DevOpsDays Montréal 2024 Sessionize Event Upcoming

May 2024 Montréal, Canada

STC Summit 2024 Upcoming

Networking 101: Building professional relationships

May 2024 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

PASSMN Meeting 2023-11-21

I lost my job! Now what?!?

November 2023

HASSUG User Group Meeting

Hybrid/condensed presentation: Whacha just say/Networking 101

August 2023

STC Summit

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed

May 2023 Atlanta, Georgia, United States

SQL Saturday New York City 2023 Sessionize Event

May 2023 New York City, New York, United States

WE Local Conference

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed
Tech Writing for Techies: A Primer

March 2023 Hartford, Connecticut, United States

PASS Data Community Summit

Networking 101: Building professional relationships

November 2022 Seattle, Washington, United States

SQL Saturday Boston 2022 Sessionize Event

October 2022 Burlington, Massachusetts, United States

SQL Saturday New Jersey 2022 Sessionize Event

July 2022

WE Local Conference

Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

April 2022 Buffalo, New York, United States

PASS Data Community Summit 2021 Sessionize Event

November 2021

Tech Con '21 Sessionize Event

October 2021

DataSaturdays #13 - Minnesota - Oct 16 2021 Sessionize Event

October 2021

Data Geeks Saturday Conference Sessionize Event

August 2021

Virtual 2021 Data.SQL.Saturday.LA Sessionize Event

June 2021

SQL Saturday #1017 (virtual), Minnesota

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed

December 2020

PASS Summit 2020 (virtual)

Blogging for Success: Advancing your career by blogging

November 2020

SQL Saturday #1003 (virtual), Memphis

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed

October 2020

SQL Saturday #961 (virtual), Albany

Networking 101: Building professional relationships

July 2020

PASS Professional Development Virtual User Group

I lost my job! Now what?!? A survival guide for the unemployed

May 2020

SQL Saturday #953, Rochester

Business cards: the most important networking tool (lightning talk)
Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

February 2020 Rochester, New York, United States

PASS Professional Development Virtual User Group

Blogging for Success: Advancing your career by blogging

January 2020

CASSUG user group meeting

What I did on my first PASS Summit! (lightning talk)

January 2020 East Greenbush, New York, United States

PASS Summit 2019

Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

November 2019 Seattle, Washington, United States

SQL Saturday #912, New York City

Networking 101: Building professional relationships
Tech Writing for Techies: A Primer
Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

October 2019 New York City, New York, United States

SQL Saturday #892, Providence

Blogging for Success: Advancing your career by blogging

August 2019 East Greenwich, Rhode Island, United States

SQL Saturday #855, Albany

Blogging for Success: Advancing your career by blogging

July 2019 Albany, New York, United States

CASSUG user group meeting

Business cards: the most important networking tool (lightning talk)

July 2019 East Greenbush, New York, United States

SQL Saturday #839, Virginia Beach

Disaster Documents: The role of documentation in disaster recovery

June 2019 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States

SQL Saturday #835, Philadephia

Tech Writing for Techies: A Primer

May 2019 Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States

SQL Saturday #813 (BI Edition), Boston

Whacha just say? Talking technology to non technical people

March 2019 Burlington, Massachusetts, United States

PASS Professional Development Virtual User Group

Networking 101: Building professional relationships

March 2019

Ray Kim

Technical writer and trainer -- my job is to make other people's jobs easier

Troy, New York, United States

Links

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