Re: undergrad tech writing students

["Kelly K. Hoffman" <zeke -dot- dnet!hoffman -at- LOGICRAFT -dot- COM>]

Len Olszewski, Technical Writer [saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com] writes:

> [...] Technical communication appeals to me for several reasons:

> -       I like puzzles. Writing about new software products under
> deadline is sort of like being Columbo, but you have less clues.

Yes! Exactly! Getting information out of harried engineers is ...um...
challenging, particularly since they are also working on a deadline.
Trying to decipher their technical specifications is a bit like
reading smudged Sanskrit.  If this doesn't sound like fun, then this
isn't the job for you.

> [...]
> -       In my situation at least, there is a definite life-cycle to
> every project. [...] And at the end of every
> project, there's a concrete piece of work you can show to people and say
> "hey, I *wrote* this".  [some other good reasons snipped out...]

This sums up nicely what I've always liked best about this job. You
get to work on a variety of things, and there's something tangible to
tell you the job is finished.  It's the pride of craftsmen: *I* made
this, isn't it beautiful? :-)

Technical writing does have its occupational hazards, though. How many
of us can read a newspaper or magazine without spotting the typos? or,
"Gee, that was a really poor word choice; they should have phrased it
*this* way."  It's hard to turn off this radar and just *enjoy* a
publication without noticing how mediocre the layout is or whatever.
On the other hand, it makes me appreciate all the more when I come
across a well-crafted piece -- because I *know* how difficult it is.
________________________________________________________________________
Kelly K. Hoffman                        Logicraft, Inc.
Technical Writer                        22 Cotton Rd., Nashua, NH  03063
i.e., e.g., ipso facto, Q.E.D.!         hoffman -at- logicraft -dot- com