TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Sorry for the change of Subject. I was a victim of the Lyris message length
monster. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For you, which of the following best describes your
view of technical writing?
* It is a stepping stone to help achieve other goals
* It is a goal or destination in itself
* I do not yet know what I consider it to be
* Other/none of the above
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not many "hard" options there, so I voted for "other". What could be other?
Well, it's a job. It's not a stepping stone, IMO, as it's a very real
profession. Though it's a very real profession, it's not a goal or
destination, IMO, as I (at least, possibly others share this sentiment) try
to always look outside the box. Our profession is ever-changing, and though
we try to lump these changes into technical writing to stay marketable, they
really are other areas of expertise. 30 years ago I don't think many tech
writers would have thought that help system development, Web authoring,
technical publishing, and a host of other tasks we lump ourselves into (QA,
usability, etc.) were part of the scope of technical writing.
So, I voted for other, as it's not really a stepping stone in the generic
sense, it's not a "goal or destination" in my mind as it could pigeonhole
me/us into a finite skills/pay group, and though I don't know what I
consider it to be for sure, I know what I think it is not. Right now, it's a
job that wins me a check. Tomorrow, it could be something completely
different.
:-/
*****************
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
*****************
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Learn about tools and technologies for user assistance developers at
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
