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Subject:Re: âWhat we need is a developer who can write.â From:Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L Writing <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:30:09 +0200
Most of a technical writer's job is researching the technology we need
to write about. That subject matter is constantly changing (or they
wouldn't need us). I don't need to worry about what I'll have to learn
in five or ten years, I'm too busy learning what I need to know in the
next few weeks or months.
The skills required to do that are the same as they were 15 years ago
and as they will be 15 years from now. Learning one language or
tagging system is much like learning another. It's rare that something
new comes along that isn't largely composed of familiar ideas.
On Tue, Oct 13, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Janoff, Steven
<Steven -dot- Janoff -at- hologic -dot- com> wrote:
> Per the OP:
>
> "Letâs take it as a given that as technical writers, we can write.
> To increase our value, we need to learn addition skills, such as a programming language.
> What other skills do you all have?"
>
> Steve
>
>
> On Monday, October 12, 2015 11:19 PM, Robert Lauriston wrote:
>
> Most of the skills a technical writer needs today are the same as they were 15 years ago and will remain essential to the job until the products are smart enough to explain themselves.
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 6:52 PM, Janoff, Steven <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- hologic -dot- com> wrote:
>> To be honest, the only skills I'm interested in are the ones in demand today, and looking into the next 5-10 years.
>
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