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:: Pity the original poster's friend who refused to try ...
:: but don't lump
:: every communicator into a category of "technical" or
:: non-technical and tell
:: us we're unemployable cause we don't know Java or
:: the-language-of-the-month.
I never made any mention of employability, any mention that technical
writers who do not learn new technologies are "non-technical", or that we
all had to learn the "language-of-the-month".
What I actually said was:
"Though there's nothing wrong with being a damn good writer, but there is
something wrong with lacking the willingness to expand your technical
knowledge, especially if you're a technical writer."
It may sound a bit rough around the edges, but opinions are seldom soft. I'm
not pointing fingers at anyone saying "you're incompetent" or "you're
unemployable". If anyone thinks I am, I'm sorry you drew such a conclusion,
but that is very much not the case.
My whole point is that to do the best job you can at disseminating info to
your readers, you need to know as much as possible. If that means learning a
program language, then do so. If that means learning about corporate law,
then do so. If that means learning about dialysis systems, jet engines,
vacuum cleaners... I think you get the point.
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BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
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