Re: Conceit, or,How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Competition

Subject: Re: Conceit, or,How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Competition
From: "Rebecca P. Rachmany" <purple -at- NETMEDIA -dot- NET -dot- IL>
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 16:32:09 +0300

> Yes, as a trained, qualified, graduate-of-the-school of hard knocks, I
> am VERY concerned about people coming in and taking jobs. I witness it
> every day. I get calls (as Mentoring Project manager of the local STC
> chapter) weekly of people who "heard about tech writing" and they say
> "well, I've got pretty good grammar skills. I know how to use Word. Can
> you help me get a job as a technical writer? I hear it pays pretty
> good." The sad part of this is that they DO find jobs. In this area,
> tech writers appear to be in demand and less experienced people are
> willing to work for less. They may be pretty good, but there are none of
> them who would not be better with a little training.

In the local market here, there is a glut of newbie technical writers
created by technical writing schools of arguable caliber. Like the author
of this quip, I get a lot of calls from people who have absolutely none of
the skills to become a technical writer. Many of these people do get jobs.
However, unlike the author of the quip, I am not bothered by their getting
jobs.

My company has a policy of hiring only "technical" writers, that is people
with backgrounds in science or computers. We target the high-end customer
who is willing to pay more for a higher quality product. Some companies
don't care about or recognize high quality; they cut costs and put out the
cheapest documentation they can. In a free market, it is perfectly
legitimate for them to make that choice. Some people drive Fiats and some
people drive Porches.

As for the reputation of the profession as a whole, that doesn't concern me
either. Let's face it: the average lifespan of most of the books we've
written is less than six months. We aren't talking here about preserving
our cultural heritage. We are talking about a commercial service which
allows us to make a living. There are always good and bad professionals in
every field, and anyone with sense recognizes that.

If you can train typists to become competent technical communicators,
that's great. (I have my doubts, but I do believe you should try to do so
before deciding if they are obsolete in your department.)

Rebecca Rachmany
General Manager
TECH-TAV technical and end-user documentation
PO Box 2419 Tel Aviv 61024
info -at- tech-tav -dot- com
http://www.tech-tav.com


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