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Re: Uplifting reading: Why Technical Writing Jobs Are Among the Best Writing Options in an Economic Depression?
Subject:Re: Uplifting reading: Why Technical Writing Jobs Are Among the Best Writing Options in an Economic Depression? From:Brad Whittington <brad -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:05:05 -0600
I didn't find the article all that uplifting. It seems to suffer from
flawed reasoning.
1. Copywriters will suffer because companies that are selling less
need fewer copywriters to write about the products.
2. Documentation writers won't be affected because the need to
"instruct, explain, and train" will "never diminish in times good or
bad."
Why is it that if companies are selling less, they need fewer people
to write about what they're selling, but still need the same number of
people to document what they're selling? The actual practice of one of
my clients contradicts this theory. In the past 4 years the tech pubs
staff has gone from 25 to 5, including a cut as recent as last month
of 2 writers. And, by the way, the number of products to document has
not diminshed. It has increased.
Instead, I would contend that the writer's quote from Bob Bly applies
to technical writers as well as copywriters. More work for the good
writers, fewer opportunities for the inadequate or entry-level
writers.
Never mind the irrelevant point regarding journalism, which has been
in decline for decades, independent of the vicissitudes of the
economy.
However, I have to say that an article that begins with a title that
puts a question mark on the end of a declarative statement doesn't
bode well for the content.
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