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Subject:Re: The value of technical writers From:Melissa Schauder <mlschauder -at- EXCITE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 29 Dec 1998 12:03:56 PST
Yes it is unbelievable! I experience (nearly always) the same treatment:
basically, whether I am developing manuals, creating online documentation,
etc., I am considered someone who "doesn't mind doing the boring stuff." I
was once told that being a Tech Writer is really just being a Secretary, but
with less contact with others in the company....
My current employee has said that I, as a Tech Writer/Electronic Publisher,
means that I'll never be able to "advance" because writers are simply
"production personnel."
I should have been a Vet.....
Melissa Schauder
Electronic Publisher
MLSchauder -at- excite -dot- com
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On 29 Dec 1998 11:28:28 -0800, RCURRIER wrote:
> I was flabbergasted by a comment by my boss the other day that left me
speechless (an unusual condition). In a manager's meeting we were discussing
how to rank all of Engineering's employees for yearly performance reviews,
> and she said something like: "It's difficult to rank technical writers
along with Engineers, because people who go into tech writing and QA are
usually
> people who tried to be Engineers and failed. Also, Engineers can keep
learning and advancing in their field, but technical writers have no where
to go or new things to learn." This revealed such a horrific
> misunderstanding of the value of technical writers, that I feel I'm
teetering on the edge of an abyss. All I could come up with at the time,
was
> to splutter "You are completely wrong, and we need to have a long talk
about this soon." After 20 years of being a technical writer and manager, I
find that I am continually challenged to learn new technologies and that
this job is still fun and exciting. In no way do I feel like a "failed
Engineer!" What in the world do I say to this dyed-in-the-wool Engineer who
holds my fate and salary in her hands to convince her that technical writers
have different skills than Engineers and should be valued differently?
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