Re[2]: Radical Idea?

[Kathleen Padova <kpadova -at- ASICENTRAL -dot- COM>]

John Bell wrote:

>So, hypothetically speaking, would you as a tech writer enjoy a job
>where you were doing technical writing, client training, and client
>technical support? If the company grows larger and the opportunity to
>split into separate disciplines arises, should we split and which
>discipline(s) would you want to work in?

During department reshuffling at the last company I was at, Documentation
was "merged" with Training. I wasn't expected to train at all (thank
goodness - I suffer from paralyzing stage fright) but I was able to sit
in the back of some of our trainings and this proved invaluable
information. I one case I came back from a training and completely
rewrote the documentation to fit the user profile I'd just met.

When we hired a 3rd Tech writer, the position was specifically a tech
writer/trainer which I though would be appealing (well, at least to
someone who could stand up in front of a group of people without
imitating a deer caught in headlights :)

The Documentation & Training Department was also a sub-department of the
Customer Services Department. We attended all of the Cust Serv staff
meetings and learned some of the more common technical problems so we
could add more information about those areas to our docs & help files.

I say go with your idea.

Kathleen Padova
Millstar Electronic Publishing Group
kpadova -at- millstar -dot- com

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