Re: FWD: Losing my profession?

Subject: Re: FWD: Losing my profession?
From: Katie Kearns <kkearns -at- cisco -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 07:33:45 -0700

At 08:02 PM 5/30/01 -0600, you wrote:

I do not want to start a holy war on the list, but I wonder if others
are experiencing the same thing I am. Perhaps I should start by
confessing that I am one of those people Andrew Plato has railed against
frequently. About ten years ago, I entered the technical writing field
because I had an MA in English and it seemed to offer a way to get paid
for writing. My interest in technology has always been secondary to my
passion for writing.

It sounds like you're burnt out... I mean, if you never had a passion for tech writing, then sure -- all this stuff would bother you. :) For me, I finally realized that throughout my whole life, I always found a way to document things -- I wrote instructions for weird little games my brothers created, wrote study guides for classmates, and spent large portions of my free time writing documents and email on how to take care of pets. I've been a techwriter for most of my life, and now I'm finally getting paid for it. ;)


I have become increasingly weary of the software environment and all of
its constant chaos, lack of focus, and constant demands for long hours.
Part of it also is that I am more than tired of dealing with geeks and
their generally adolescent approach to life. The interesting fact, for
me, is that the more technical I have become, the more money I have
made, but the less I find any of this interesting or compelling.

That's the people and the companies, not the job. I've been writing for only 2 years, but I've already worked on teams that were well-planned, focused, and didn't require any overtime. My geeks were/are pleasant, nice, and genuinely interested in producing nice documentation. My company understands why it's important, and I feel appreciated.

As far as I can tell, coders, marketers, and everyone else feels exactly the same way about start ups -- they're awful. This has been a really messed up field for years. ;)

At the same time, the same problems can (and do) happen in other jobs, too. It's just been pretty prevalent in the high-tech world, simply because there were a lot of people getting funding without any idea of how to run a business. ;)


I am weary of all this, tired of being subject to constant layoffs, and
wondering what happened to my profession. Is techwhirling really a
career, or is it just a series of odd jobs? I have also realized that if
I did find technology inherently fascinating, I would be much better off
as a developer.

Nah -- I know plenty of developers that are having the same problems. My brother's had a new job every year for years. My sister's done the same. Right now coders are being laid off, too. It's not just us. ;) But can you blame them for laying us off before the developers? I mean, without coders, there's nothing for us to write about. :) It's not because we aren't important, it's because we don't make a product by ourselves, we just make the product better (to steal a line from BASF).

It just sounds like your burnt out because this just isn't the thing for you. :) Do yourself a favor and follow your dreams. Write a book, or whatever you wanted to do when you decided you wanted to be a writer.

-Katie


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