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Subject:Re: always look for a new job? From:Barry Kieffer <barry -dot- kieffer -at- EXGATE -dot- TEK -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 27 Jul 1998 10:50:22 -0700
There is another aspect to the discussion of "Always look for a new job".
The keyword here is JOB.
Up until the 70's the definition of "Career" was to join a company, work
your way up the corporate ladder, and retire with full benefits.
The 70's brought up acquisition and merger mania.
Now "Career" is what you do - I am a technical writer.
"Job" is where you practice your career - I have a job at Tektronix.
This is also reflected in tenure vs. experience.
I know a great many technical writers who claim more than 20-years of
experience as a technical writer; but all of the more than 20-years have
been at the same company.
Is that experience or tenure?
When I worked in/as an electrical engineer the rule of thumb was that only
the first three years at any company could be claimed as experience.
Technical writing is a "relatively" new field. In my 15-years in electrical
engineering, about 25% to 75% of my time was spent (happily) doing technical
writing. I do not claim all 15 years as technical writing experience.
I would be interested in hearing from other technical writers how you view
the tenure vs. experience debate.
Regards,
Barry Kieffer
Technical Writer
MBD Customer Documentation
Tektronix, Inc.
