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Subject:Re: going into the local bar and saying From:"Starr, Mike" <Mike -dot- Starr -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 28 Sep 1995 09:24:04 -0400
Caryn Rizell asked:
<<I know that we have discussed this issue before on the list, but it
concerns me still: Is there a better, more descriptive term for what we
do
than 'technical writer'? Whenever I tell someone what I do, I usually
get
a blank look and then have to explain what this means. Usually I just
say
"I write software documentation" when someone asked me what I do, because
that is usually what I end up saying anyway after I get the blank look.
It would be nice to have an occupational description that didn't require
more explanation. I love what we do, but I hate telling anyone what I
do!>>
I always say technical writer and when (not if) people give me that blank
stare, I say that I write user's manuals for software. It used to be even
more difficult at my last company as their product was a laser trim
system for the hybrid microelectronics industry; I would occasionally
have to resort to giving a short course in basic electronics in order to
explain to someone exactly what I did and what the company I worked for
sold.
Mike Starr
Writer
Rockwell Software Inc.
mike -dot- starr -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com