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Zaigham Khan reports: <<I am a professional technical writer for the last 6
months. Instead of gearing up for the next milestone of skill improvement i
am dissheartened and disillusioned to be a technical writer, because it is
more like
interpreting the gods when they dont even have time for us.>>
Interesting to see how this attitude crosses cultural boundaries. It's much
the same in many North American and European companies, despite a much
longer history of technical communication as a profession. We all face this
attitude at some point or another, and the only real way around it seems to
be to establish a working relationship or even a friendship with the
developers. Doing so makes them treat you as a real human being, not just as
someone who comes to bother them with questions when they would rather be
doing their own work. Professionalism helps, of course; make sure that
before you go to ask a question, you've done your best to research it on
your own so that you have at least a tentative answer and know what
questions you shouldn't ask, plus choose a time when you know you won't be
interrupting the developer's work (e.g., while he or she waits for the
computer to boot up in the morning).
<<I believe there is no such importance of a technical writer in a softwre
house and it is generally being thaught that any company can do without it
quite well, because the developers can do that tooooo.>>
One thing I often point out (and will reiterate in an upcoming article in
_Intercom_, "Prove your worth") is that you can cure this attitude by
pointing out that the developers probably get paid twice as much as you do,
and that time spent writing documentation is time they could instead be
spending on developing products. Writing is obviously not the best use of
their expensive time, and that lets you demonstrate how much time and money
you're saving by writing materials for them. I don't like the idea of
describing technical writers as "cheap labor", but it's nonetheless true
that we're rarely the highest-paid workers at a company.
<<I am an Asian working in Asia, there are not much people of my breed
around here>>
Check the techwr-l archives at www.raycomm.com; this topic has been
discussed before. There have also been excellent articles on international
technical communication in _Technical Communication_; visit
www.techcomm-online.com and search the article archives. You didn't mention
where in Asia you're working, but STC (www.stc.org) has a strong presence in
Japan and has begun establishing professional contacts in China and
elsewhere in the region; they may have a local chapter somewhere near you by
now. Guru Kamath, a member of techwr-l, has also established a discussion
group for Indian technical communicators (I believe the organisation is
called "TWIN, Technical Writers in INdia", and that they have a mailing
list, but can't confirm that from my own records). Look for his name in our
archives and you should find contact information.
The best advice I can give you is to come here to techwr-l with your
questions; with luck, you'll meet some colleagues living near you, and even
if you don't, you'll still get great advice on solving your problems.
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/usersadvocate.html
"In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the
third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth -- teaching
others."--Ibn Gabirol, poet and philosopher (c. 1022-1058)
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