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> I do not want to start a holy war on the list, but I wonder if others
> are experiencing the same thing I am. Perhaps I should start by
> confessing that I am one of those people Andrew Plato has railed against
> frequently.
You have eleven toes too. God I hate those people!
> About ten years ago, I entered the technical writing field
> because I had an MA in English and it seemed to offer a way to get paid
> for writing. My interest in technology has always been secondary to my
> passion for writing.
There is no reason the two can't co-exist, provided you can at least
acknowledge that you need to have a good grasp of the content. I love to write
too and someday when I grow up and stop playing Half-Life, I'll write something
fun. Until then, I write about servers and hackers and such.
> Even on a high level, the technical writer is
> often seen as the least-valuable member of a development team and,
> hence, expendable.
Yes, but when it gets down to it - we are all expendable. At a moments notice
all we have could collapse and evaporate. The era of job security is over.
> I take full responsibility for the choices I made, and I am not blaming
> anyone else. However, after 11 years in the field, I find myself weary
> of the inherent instability, and I am reluctant to enter the fray again.
> I notice that the interviews I am going on are not clicking, perhaps
> because I feel like everyone is lying, consciously or not. Every time I
> listen to a geek drone on about the opportunity in yet another
> software sweatshop, I want to say that we all know better, so why not
> cut the BS.
There are technology firms with cool things and intelligent people. They are
just few and far between. For every shop that is going places, there are 10
that are going nowhere. Chances are, you aren't in one of the places going
somewhere. That is why it is so important to look beyond the technology at an
entire organization. Management, finance, marketing, sales. A lot of places
have great ideas, but morons in charge of seeing them get to market.
> I have become increasingly weary of the software environment and all of
> its constant chaos, lack of focus, and constant demands for long hours.
> Part of it also is that I am more than tired of dealing with geeks and
> their generally adolescent approach to life. The interesting fact, for
> me, is that the more technical I have become, the more money I have
> made, but the less I find any of this interesting or compelling.
Wow, man. You're like reading my mind.
You are right. Adolescents are getting on my nerves as well. I think we're
coming down off a high, here. The tech sector spiked with an excess of young
men and women driving it. Now we have all woke up the next morning to the
shocking reality that just being young, wired, and driving a Jetta does not
make you a genius. Most of the adolescents who won't or can't grow up and get a
clue are out on their ass looking for work just like you. A lot of companies
are actually shifting and hiring more experienced people. I know I am. I
basically stopped interviewing people with less than two years of experience.
The flipside of this is true as well. I am equally sick of listening to
"experienced people" who think because they designed a template in 1985 that
was remotely useful they are executive, master, senior, writers who deserve a
corner office and a 90 week vacation cycle. Just because you stood around long
enough to grow moss doesn't make you wise.
> I am sure that some of you are thinking something like, OK. Dont let
> the door hit you on your way out the door. However, I wonder if there
> is not a bigger issue here. If we are not valued as writers, then what
> are we? More and more, I have felt pushed into a role of being some sort
> of junior programmer, always the less-than-swift member of a development
> team.
A lot of this has to do with how to manage your surroundings. If you wimp
around and let people take advantage of you - you will be consistently let
down. In today's work world you simply cannot trust people to have your best
interests in mind. You have to look out for number one before somebody drops a
big number two on you.
> As a writer trying to make a living, however, I think that I have lost
> my profession. After the end of ten years, I never want to see another
> cube farm again, never want to listen to someone drone on about how this
> new system is revolutionary, and especially never want to hear again
> that I am a cost the company can live without.
You are a cost companies can live without, but it isn't because they don't want
documentation. They don't want nonsense.
Most of the engineers and technology managers I meet all say the same thing.
They are fed up with technical writers who cannot handle technical issues. As
one CTO I know says "You're f_cking **technical** writers - you should know
technical sh_t!"
He's a real fun guy to work for. He's almost as foul mouthed as me.
While you are tired of hearing about "revolutionary technology" they are tired
of hearing things like "FrameMaker can do everything in the universe but none
of the other employees in the company can open the files." They are tired of
being told they have to spend $65,000 a year on a supposedly skilled
professional who hides in his cube all day reformatting specifications and
never once going out and getting involved with the project.
If you're tired of tech writing, move into a different field. Maybe QA or
project management would be more interesting. Whatever you do, remember that
you're not alone. A lot of people are in the same boat you are. I've got 50+
resumes from tech writers in the last month alone (Intel has been laying them
off in droves). Its tough out there right now. Be happy you're not working for
a dot.com.
Andrew Plato
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