RE: observation of tech writer status

["Grant, Christopher" <CGrant -at- glhec -dot- org>]

> I know that there are on-going discussions about how tech 
> writers don't get any respect (whether it's true or not is 
> another issue), but a couple recent situations puts a slight 
> twist to this tired topic.

In my workplace, technical writers aren't accorded a great deal of respect
or professional treatment because we are perceived as skilled typists.  I
believe this perception is rooted in previous technical writers at my
workplace who _acted_ merely as skilled typists.  Additionally, since I've
been working at my job, I've seen 4 other technical writers be hired.  2 of
those 4 wound up being merely skilled typists who balked when asked to
actually understand the products they were "documenting."  Fortunately, they
quit (since the job demands more than typing.)

My point is that I'm beginning to believe that at least half of all
technical writers ARE merely skilled typists.  They're concerned with
formatting, cutting and pasting information from SMEs, and worrying about
word choice.  Not that those things aren't important in their own right, but
they don't garner the respect of management, because their impact is
relatively small in the final product. And it doesn't take a particularly
high level of skill to master these things. 

I'm angry about this perception, because it hinders me from being able to do
my job.  Because we're percieved as typists, we are treated the same way.
Management doesn't think to involve us early on in a new project, because
they don't think that a "typist" needs to know much about what they're
typing about.  Management doesn't want us to speak directly to developers
because "typists" don't understand complex stuff and ask stupid questions,
wasting developer time.  Management gives us unrealistic deadlines because
they think all we're doing is "typing."  Management would never hamstring
the developers this way, and essentially if I'm being a _real_ _technical_
writer, I'm just another developer, only I code in English and my platform
is the printed page, or online help system.

But at the same time, I'm sick of hearing people whine about getting
respect, because it's own OWN fault.  Because there are a lot of technical
writers out there acting like typists, we get treated like typists.  I can't
blame management for thinking this way.  

> So, I'm wondering if this is a pattern of tech writer 
> existence. The tech writer wants respect from dev, and 
> doesn't get it. The tech writer doesn't notice respect from 
> other departments, and does get it.

This is exactly what has happened at my workplace.  The writers who merely
demanded respect without doing anything to warrant it, WEREN'T respected and
eventually wound up quitting.  OTOH, I've been going about my business,
trying to actually do _technical_ writing (and that means actually
understanding your product, being able to write authoritatively about it,
knowing more about the product in some ways than even the SMEs, etc, etc -
basically, problem-solving to produce a deliverable that explains the
product in a comprehensive, useful way that adds value to the product.)  And
in the process of doing this, I've earned a great deal of respect.  I've
never ASKED for respect.  You get respect by producing quality results, not
by citing your amazing superpowers.

Please, differing opinons are welcomed, but remember that these are just MY
opinions about MY experience.  I'm not saying this is a panacea, but I feel
I've seen enough to make some small generalizations.  YMMV.  

Chris Grant


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