Re: RE: real tech writers? RE: Out-of-Work Tech Writers and Switching Careers

[Goober <techcommgoober -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> Actually, I complained of nothing. I stated, and I
> believe that I can make a
> case for this assertion, that tech writers are, as a
> class, less respected
> and less well paid than many other professions
> because of the way our
> profession has evolved in the computer age. 

Oh please, if you want respect you have to earn it.
Period.
 
> Repeated salary surveys of the last thirty years
> will support my contention
> on the pay issue, and numerous studies of the
> industry detail the inception
> and explosion of our somewhat ragtag, homegrown
> profession.

Funny thing, these salary surveys. Thems ain't
accurate! Hell, I saw an STC survey for my region...
there were THREE respondants... got a nice fat average
out of that one... REALLY accurate.

> I slam no technical writer. I do recognize that our
> industry is rife with
> poorly prepared and less-than-dedicated wannabe tech
> writers.

Same goes for programming, sales, fine arts, sports,
etc...

> I support entry to the tech writer ranks of any and
> all who will learn the
> craft, work to improve their capability and the
> state of the art (yep, it's
> a profession, skill, an art AND a craft). 
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep, and you can spot the bad ones right away...
they're hiding under the tables eating paste. *lol*

> I encourage writers to work
> together to improve the image of tech writers and
> the technical writing profession overall.

Let's first encourage them to WORK and THINK and BE
PRODUCTIVE. Sure, we all work hard, but do we really
work intelligently? Do we contemplate for hours the
positioning of a heading on a page or do we bang out
content and apply a basic template that makes it look
clean enough, or do we spend time making the template
work and then bang out content, or...

There are a ton of different types of people in this
profession. Herding us together will be like herding
cats. Let's face it, many of us are easily distracted
by noise in the profession, bright shiny objects
dangled by management, and minute details scurrying
about the floor...

> I mentioned customer service reps and analysts
> because it has been my
> personal experience that most of the tech writers I
> have worked with were or
> want to be one or the other. Your mileage may vary.

It does.

> Lastly, the amount of personalization seen lately on
> this list dismays me
> greatly. It seems that any statement is taken as an
> attack on the reader as
> an individual. For me to say that the ranks of tech
> writers are largely
> populated with whomever is apparently taken as my
> saying that you are a
> failed whatever posing as a writer. Are you indeed
> that unsure of yourself
> and your profession that any somewhat negative
> statement, even if correct,
> requires a personal call to arms?

Of course! WE'RE TECHNICAL WRITERS!!!!!

;)

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