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I am faced with a fork in my career path and need some input from greater minds than my own. I have been working as a technical writer for the last five years. In that time I have grown and taken on more and more responsibilities. I've created and designed templates for all of our manuals (i.e. hardware, software, and maintenance), implemented help file creation using WebWorks Publisher, created all artwork for every manual, managed our intranet sites and several storefronts, and acted as sole international liaison for all documentation.
After a ridiculous amount of red tape and insistence on my part, I was promoted to Sr. Technical Writer with a whopping 4.5% pay increase! During this process, they became aware of the many extra jobs I fill that are not part of the Sr. Technical Writer job description. So, they have now created a new position entitled: Technical Communications Specialist. The description for this job is the same as the Sr. Technical Writer with many additional duties but at the same pay.
So, my question is: Do I accept the new title? It would mean more responsibility for the same pay. Granted, I do the work now, but I'm not really responsible for it :-) Big Difference!!
One the plus side, there is a Sr. Technical Communications Specialist to advance to. But at a 4.5% increase, that's hardly an incentive. Also, I'm concerned about the title. I think everyone in the industry has an idea as to the jobs and responsibilities of a Sr. Technical Writer. But what is a Technical Communications Specialist? If Technical Communications Specialist appears on my resume, I don't think future employers will be quite so impressed.
So anyway, thanks in advance for any insight and guidance you can give.
Best Regards,
Bryan K. Johnson
Senior Technical Writer
Motoman Inc.
(937) 847-3407
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