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RE: What is happening to us -- was RE: What's wrong with this headline?
Subject:RE: What is happening to us -- was RE: What's wrong with this headline? From:Kat Kuvinka <katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:26:19 -0400
>
> As such, it impacts our jobs in that fewer people seem to view technical
> writers as a profession and as worth any money. After all, everyone learned
> to write in third grade.
>
> The competition among writers to fill the need for published material (news
> articles, use guides, technical documentation, and so on) has become such
> that we see ads such as "Content writers wanted - $1 page" and "Technical
> writer needed - $13/hour" more often.
>
I have mixed feelings here. I became a technical writer because I did not want to be a programmer. I was one of those who cashed in on the boom, but I am still here and still learning and still excited about the profession. So...as more people became aware of the profession in the 80s and 90s and it *was* worth more money, it was somewhat brought down by a lot of bad technical writing.
I don't want to blame bad teachers or bad journalism or the overly casual approach to written communications today, because I think there is still room for good technical writing to be taken seriously and rewarded accordingly.
Kathee
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