Re: May Day,May Day?????

[Glen Warner <gdwarner -at- ricochet -dot- net>]

Zaigham_Khan -at- netsolpk -dot- com wrote:
 
> Hi All,
> 
> 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.

The old 'Recalitrant Engineer' situation --!

Someone once suggested bribery for these situations ... i.e., try 
offering the programmer chocolate.  Booze works too, I hear ... but 
you can't really trust the quality of the information you're getting 
after a certain amount of this pursuasion has been applied.

> 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.

A lot of programmers believe they can do your job better than you can. 
 Usually, the customers (or worse, reviewers, in print for all to see) 
complain about the resultant documentation, and the company lets the 
tech writer do his/her job ... in an ideal world.

Have you tried discussing the situation with your boss?  Sometimes 
mangerial pressure will smooth things over with racalcitrant SMEs .... 
but then again, they may resent the fact that your boss went to their 
boss, and still give you nothing ... in which case, you go back to 
your boss.

It's also been said on this list at least once before:  document 
everything -- including attempts to interview the problem person, 
communiques with your boss, etc., etc.  E-mail this stuff to your home 
account -- just in case -- and update the info daily (or however 
necessary).

Ideally, you should be able to explain why your document is late (or 
whatever) by pointing to a nicely laid-out documentation of events 
which should show exactly where (or, in this case, "who") the problem 
is.

> I am an Asian working in Asia, there are not much people of my breed 
around
> here, while i believe the things are different in Europe and 
states...can
> somebody aware me of whats going on.

I'm not familiar with the climate for tech writers in Asia ... but you 
might start doing some "research" on other companies in your area with 
their technical writers.  You know ... call different companies, talk 
to their HR-folk, ask to speak with someone in Documentation or 
whatever they call it ... and test the waters. If they all have the 
same complaints, it may be time to move --!  If they don't have the 
same complaints, the best advice I can offer would be to see if these 
other companies have openings, and be ready to jump when the time 
comes.

In the meantime, do your best, keep your cool, learn what you can, and 
when the time comes to jump to a new position, don't hesitate.

Bottom line, don't give up on the field because of one bad experience 
with a programmer (you know what they say about the social skills of 
some of these folk ...).

Good luck ...

--gdw
> 
> Regards,
> Zaigham Khan

"Well, you know what they say:  the bigger they are --"
"-- the faster they stomp you into nothing."
--Something to contemplate before battling a god


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