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Subject:Re: PET PEEVE #3148 From:Bex <rebeccaf -at- COMPNEWS -dot- CO -dot- UK> Date:Mon, 10 Jul 1995 10:43:13 +0100
On Sun, 9 Jul 1995, David Richmond wrote:
> Bob Morse (morse -at- inxpress -dot- net) wrote:
> : Okay, folks, here's a new thread for y'all:
> : Does anyone else get as aggravated as I do when browsing
> : want ads for tech-writer positions, to find prospective
> : employers specifying the brands/models of software tools as
> : REQUIREMENTS for the positions? E.g.: "XYZ Corp. seeks
> : user documentation specialist for its industry-leading
> : SoftWidget software. Documentation experience preferred.
> : Familiarity with MS Word [or WordPerf, or Pagemaker, etc.]
> : a must."
> This attitude kept me out of the technical writing job market for a year.
> I finally (as a pure answer to prayer) ran across a company that was
> willing to allow me the time to learn their setup (Interleaf on Sun).
> Within two weeks, I'd outdistanced their anticipated learning curve for
> me and was ready to jump into the project, which I also finished ahead of
> schedule. I'm now about to become a permanent staff member.
> Companies which follow the "XYC Corp." policy ultimately are shooting
> themselves and everyone else in the foot. Few people plan to become
> technical writers. They cross over into the field from all kinds of
> backgrounds. If someone doesn't train people willing to do a job so many
> others don't care for, then the pool dries up.
Lots of people do plan to be technical writers but there is so much
technology out there that you can't necessarily know it all. The
important thing is to know the principles and what can be done with a wp or
dtp package. I'd go so far as to say that you are more likely to know
this by being an expert on one package rather than having had little goes
at several, as long as you are willing and able to learn how to use
new packages.
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