RE: Think outside the box - Re: A suspected can of worms

["Mark Baker" <mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com>]

> I think a degree
> in Technical Communications should require a variety
> of courses including: Math, Chemistry, Physics,
> Psychology, Business Administration, Education,
> Journalism, English, etc..

I am reminded of the professor who defined an honors degree as a "a
certificate of incompetence in one subject only". This curriculum would
clearly provide one with a certificate of incompetence in every subject.

"Technical Writer" is a job title that gets attached to a diverse set of
jobs, and, moreover, does not get attached to many jobs which are in every
respect identical to jobs to which the title does attach.

The job title of "technical writer" may be attached to people who:

* Write original content in their own area of expertise for people in their
own field.
* Write original content in their own area of expertise for people in
another field.
* Write content on behalf of an SME for people in the SME's field.
* Write content on behalf of an SME for people in another field.
* Write original content as an integral member of a development team
describing the products of that team for people in another field.
* Write original content as an integral member of a development team
describing the products of that team for people in their own field.
* Provide editorial, copyediting, or copywriting services to authors of
technical content who do not themselves have the title of technical writer.
* Provide publication and production support to authors of technical content
who do not themselves have the title of technical writer.
* Write internal development, policy, or lifecycle documents based on their
own work in these fields.
* Provide editorial or publishing support to people who do the above and are
not called technical writers.
* Do a whole bunch of other things to which the application of the term
"technical writer" seems a bit of a stretch -- but so what?

They may do any of the above on anything from simple home electronics to
software to aircraft maintenance to nuclear power plant operations.

No one set of qualifications can possible fit anyone for such a widely
diverse range of occupations. Nothing you can do with a tech writing
curriculum can ever make it suitable training for all these occupations. And
the best qualifications for most of those jobs are not degrees or diplomas
in technical communication.

---
Mark Baker
Stilo Corporation
1900 City Park Drive, Suite 504 , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1J 1A3
Phone: 613-745-4242, Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com
Web: http://www.stilo.com

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