Techwriting after the boom

["Barbara Yanez" <BarbaraYanez -at- cogentsystems -dot- com>]

Mark

Thanks for articulating that. Not good news. When I got into this I
thought it would be a hot area for a good while. I know about the tech
crash but thought we would recover to at least some semblance of a
decent set of job prospects for years to come.

I am very happy in my current position and don't plan on going anywhere
any time soon (at least not by my choice - laugh laugh - no, seriously,
I am well-respected here and the co is in good financial condition) - so
thank God I don't have to be out looking right now. But I am curious -
for any of you who are out of work. How do you find looking for a job in
tech writing to be right now? Are you getting a lot of bites? No bites?
Some bites? And also, would you think it will get better, let's say -
the first of next year? I mean have you heard about any expected trends
I might not be aware of, etc.? I am just asking out of curiosity and
also because from time to time people ask me what I do and then they ask
if it is a good field to be in. It used to be but as for now, I am not
sure since I am not out there looking. 

Every day I hear terrible news about the economy and how the job market
is but I was not aware of how it is for tech writers. And also how it
differs by region.

Any of you who know, can you write?

Barbara


-----
Mark Baker writes:


True enough, but those industries don't produce the same kinds of
complex
home/office products that came out of the microprocessor revolution.
There
is a lot a writing to be done, but it requires deep expertise. It is
communication from one expert to another, and much of it will be done by
people who think of themselves as engineers or scientists, not writers.

Technical writing jobs exist largely where there is a cognitive gap
between
the supplier and the recipient of information. That gap always exists,
but
it represents a small percentage of all the communication on technical
subjects that goes on in the world. That percentage was blown way out of
proportion in the microprocessor revolution, and is now returning to its
normal state. I don't see any technological movement now underway that
threatens to change it so radically again.

---



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