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>Is my perception skewed or are we climbing the corporate ladder
>in perceived worth? Do many of you still feel like you fight to
>be recognized as a professional?
I was surprised at the level of respect that my current employer grants
technical writers. We're the only ones with 21" monitors, and who are
first-string for offices, regardless of seniority. Something about some
writers needing more quiet than others (personally, I can work in most any
situation, but I won't complain about having an office! :-)
Typically, we have groups that have a few programmers, a manager, a QA
person or two, and a writer in it. Each group is responsible for some part
of our product. With this breakdown, writers are almost always in on the
"big stuff." It's just the "little stuff" that still gets decided without
us knowing about it, or being told. (Yeah, I'm sure nobody else has *that*
problem!)