Required skills for technical writers.

[Bill Wilkes <wrwnc -at- TDS -dot- NET>]

I find Thomas Murrell's comments very much to the point.  I have a PhD in
physics, and have been writing technical material for 30 years.  Now as a
retiree who wants to work part time, I find that "technical writing" all
too often means web page design or online help manual writing, and has
nothing to do with knowing or understanding much technical material.

I think I am a reasonably skilled writer, though I suspect I am too often
dull, and I have an ability to understand highly technical material and to
pick up new software in a hurry.  Now all I need is someone who is looking
for a writer of technical material instead of a technical writer.

At 09:25 AM 8/16/1999 -0400, Thomas Murrell wrote:
>I have read with some interest the various comments in this thread about
the
>relative merits of technical writing vs. journalism, the life of a
technical
>writer, and even what software someone ought to be familiar with as a
>technical writer.  I find it curious that no one has really addressed the
>issue of whether the two fields are, per se, compatible areas for
>cross-training.
>
>In my experience, I have found very few Technical Writers, people who have
a
>balance of both technical and writing skills.  Most folks in the area of
>technical communications are writers or editors who happen to be working on
>technical material.  They themselves are not very technical.  Some few TWs
>are very technical but lack in the area of writing skills.
>
>The few who do seem to have some technical understanding seem to aspire to
>crossing over into the more lucrative areas of software development or
>engineering.  It is as if they are really more interested in making more
>money than in improving their craft.

etc. etc.

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