Re: Current trends in Authoring Tools?

["D. Michael McIntyre" <michael -dot- mcintyre -at- rosegardenmusic -dot- com>]

On Thursday 08 February 2007 2:33 pm, Ned Bedinger wrote:
> Like you, I agree that learning a documentation tool is something most
> of us could do independently while ramping up on a project.  Why do so
> many recruiters and hiring managers have a cow when good candidates,
> when asked directly, reveal that they don't have the exact tool experience?

I can't answer that, but it's a great summary of the story of my life so far.  
I only decided to try to get into writing as a day job recently, and I 
haven't had many interviews, but the tool thing has been my downfall so far.

At the last interview, I saw the guy's eyes glaze over when he heard my answer 
to "Do you know Adobe?"

He didn't even know Adobe what.  He had no clue.  Of course I don't 
know "Adobe."  How can anyone answer that question?

And living exclusively in the Linux world for the past six years, which he 
well knew from the preliminary interview, of course I don't know Adobe 
anything, but I know how to create PDFs, vector graphics, bitmap graphics, 
etc. with free tools, and the Adobe stuff is probably easier to use.  It 
ought to be for what they paid for it.

I mean look at that book again.  See the bitmaps?  See the vector graphics?  
See the consistent application of styles (except for the one the publisher's 
editor mangled for no reason I can discern)?  The table of contents?  Does it 
MATTER what tools I used to do that?

I'm a truck driver by trade for the time being, and this would be like being 
refused a job because I happen to have never driven a Volvo or a Mack.  I 
can't tell you where the headlight switch is on an Mack model XYZ, but I bet 
you it won't take long for me to figure it out.  It's probably the switch 
that says "Lights," or has a little picture of a bulb with lines coming out 
of it.  I know what a headlight switch DOES.  I know what it's FOR.  I can 
read the manual to figure out any particulars if needs be.  I don't need to 
have driven your brand of truck before in order to use it to do everything a 
truck does, so what does it matter what tools I used to accomplish these same 
goals last time?

Hrm.  That sounds like a pretty good argument, actually.  I'll have to polish 
that up a little, and keep it in my toolbox for next time.
-- 
D. Michael McIntyre 
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