TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I believe technical writing salaries are lower than software developer
salaries in part because many technical writers have not learned to make
ourselves strategic. Right now, many of us are viewed as expense items.
Part of this situation is perception, but part is structural. For example,
when we write a user manual, much of what we are doing is bridging around
the non-intuitive design of the systems we are documenting. If people could
understand the metaphor and structure of the system intuitively, they
wouldn't need what we produce.
Another way of looking at the same issue is to use quality system
terminology. We could be viewed as correctors of defects, or worse, as
customer support people who try to provide workarounds to non-intuitive
systems. Better product design reduces or eliminates our usefulness. As
applications increasingly move to the Web, where printed documentation is
not tolerated, we technical writers will have to reinvent ourselves
strategically or get left behind.
Flannery O'Connor had a book entitled Everything That Rises Must Converge.
As we look for our place to rise, we may need to acquire instructional
design, performance improvement, marketing, and usability consulting skills.
I believe we need to move ourselves to the realm where we deliver
"solutions" based on business needs to improve performance. Our solutions
might include writing printed or online help documents, writing marketing
pieces, coaching, developing and delivering training, developing EPSSs,
performing process analysis, or developing Web content. This approach makes
us strategic; and, I assure you, Performance Technologists get paid better
than tech writers do.
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