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Re: Moving into the position of "programmer writer"?
Subject:Re: Moving into the position of "programmer writer"? From:"The Songbird" <TheSongbird -at- home -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:32:46 -0600
Hello Anon!
I'm emerging from lurk mode ...
I'm a software developer who has worked as a technical
writer at one small company in Dallas, so I guess I was a
"programmer writer".
I think the earning potential for you would be rewarding, if
you have the interest in this field. I know the company I
worked for was *very* interested in a writer who could
double as a developer. The software was very technical
and the documentation was for engineers, not general users.
They wanted someone who could really understand what the
engineers wanted and needed. Also, they had another programmer
for when things got busy. My salary reflected those extra
abilities.
I can't speak about working in groups, since I was the only one.
But I really think that your earning potential and opportunities
would only improve with the extra knowledge. In this area (Dallas),
I know there are many technology companies that would be looking for
those skills. And there are not very many programmers who want to
work as a writer, so programming skills would give you an edge
over writers who don't have any.
I hope this was helpful,
The Songbird
> Subject: Moving into the position of "programmer writer"?
> From: "Anon Y. Mous" <unknownidca -at- yahoo -dot- com>
> Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 09:07:42 -0800 (PST)
>
> I'm looking for some sage career advice from anyone
> who is currently working as a "programmer writer" or
> who hires and/or works with programmer writers.
> <snip>
> I really appreciate and private or public input you
> can provide. As I said, moving into programming
> writing would require a significant financial and
> professional investment on my part. I want to make
> sure it would offer some rewards in terms of increased
> employment demand, better salary, and interesting
> writing challenges.
IPCC 01, the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference,
October 24-27, 2001 at historic La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
CALL FOR PAPERS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 15. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
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