RE: Losing my profession?

[Warren_Singer -at- vocaltec -dot- com]

Doesn't this song sound familiar?

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my profession
Trying to keep a point of view
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough.

I guess he's talking about burnout, loss of faith and motivation. 
I don't know what the "big picture" shows about the trends in this 
profession (technical writing), but it appears that after a few years, 
many technical writers re-educate and move on to other careers or 
opportunities within the industry, using the experience they've gained as 
a bootstrap to their new tasks. A case in point - our previous VP of 
Marketing was originally a technical writer. This migration leaves a 
shortage in skilled technical writers, which helps push up demand and 
salaries. 

So what do you do if you're stuck in a rut and don't know where to go from 
here? 

The way I see things, there are several options open for career 
enhancement. You could try a managerial position - you get paid well, 
you're treated with some respect and you call the shots. You could try 
specializing in a specific aspect of technical writing and become an 
"expert" in that area, such as PDF production. Many of the experts I know 
charge top rates for consultations and regularly organize international 
courses on their area of expertise. They are in constant demand. The third 
option, which is also very common, is to move from technical writing into 
a related field - Training, Marketing Communications (Marcom), Presales 
etc. As a technical writer, you probably have most of the skills required.

But what if you're sick of the entire industry - the stress, the hype, the 
bullshit -  and want a complete change?

You could try being a farmer and growing vegetables. You could lock 
yourself in a room for six months and write a best-selling novel. You 
could take off a year to rejuvenate, collect unemployment and spend the 
time at the beach, reading trashy novels. If you have the money, you could 
take a tour of the world and see what's out there, beyond the narrow 
confines of your small cubicle.

But seriously, I don't think burnout and the feeling of being 
unappreciated are unique to our profession. The chances are good that many 
engineers or programmers also face problems with repetitive, uncreative 
jobs, projects that go nowhere, pet projects that are killed because of 
lack of funding or because the product is not selling, constant internal 
restructuring and political infighting within a company, and a constant 
move from job to job. After a few years of this, anyone would feel 
burnout. I am sure that the trend here mirrors the trend in technical 
writing - either to migrate upwards to a managerial position, to 
specialize, or to more into other areas, such as product management and 
marketing management.

---------------------------------------------------------
Warren Singer
Documentation Manager
VocalTec Communications Ltd.
Phone: (direct) 972-9-9707773
Fax: 972-9-951-5307
Email: warren_singer -at- vocaltec -dot- com
www.vocaltec.com
--------------------------------------------------------

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