Re: Getting moved from engineering to marketing

[Melonie Holliman <melonie -dot- holliman -at- TXEXMTA4 -dot- AMD -dot- COM>]

Howdy,

I am both a marketing and a technical writer and I LOVE IT!!
I get to know twice as many tools. I get to do cool things with
PhotoShop while discussing technical aspects with engineers.
I get to be creative and technical. I get to know the engineers
and the users. There are plusses to each position and there
are negative to both.

At my last job, we had a true war going on between marketing
and engineering and I would get caught in the middle. I finally
learned how to get above all the piddley stuff and get benefits
from both sides. It actually seemed to put me in a position of
power because I understood both sides.

Both sides are trying to make a living. Marketers understand
what it takes to sell a product. There are some real slimy
ones out there; there are also some very savvy salesmen who
do have morals. There are some engineers that are so hard
headed they will not see anything beyond their own cube;
there are some excellent engineers who are trying to produce
the very best product they can. The good ones (marketers and
engineers) are trying to get a product to market and make the
company money. It really does help to try to understand the
other person's position.

At this job, I am in the marketing department. I have not seen
the marketing/engineering war going on here. That may be
because we are soooo technical that most of the marketers have
an engineering background. The marketing writing is very technical
and the marketers seem to have a good relationship with engineers.
If I were in the same situation as the Anonymous poster, I would
be miserable, too. Like anything else, there are good groups and
frustrating groups with which to work.

Marketing has taught me more about "know your audience" than
my technical writing ever thought of doing. It also taught me about
the real power of word choice and phrasing.

I believe my technical writing enhances my marketing writing while my
marketing writing enhances my technical writing. There are things
to be learned from both. I love having the variety. If you are someone
who likes being in a niche and staying there, chances are you will
HATE marketing writing. If you like to always try new things, chances
are you will enjoy it.

Melonie R. Holliman
Technical Writer
CPD Marketing
Advanced Micro Devices


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