RE: Biomed - Wave of the Future - Evolve?

["Dave Neufeld" <Dave_Neufeld -at- spectrumsignal -dot- com>]

I don't think the biomed boom will employ the same proportion of technical writers as the high tech boom did. The high tech boom created a new demand for a new type of technical writing that was aimed at joe-average consumer. 

All of a sudden joe-average was inundated with ever-changing computer hardware and software, as well as VCRs, Digicams, and home alarms with an exponentially growing number of buttons, knobs, and new fangled control interfaces. Joe- and Jane- average needed a lot of information to use this stuff, and more importantly -- to buy this stuff and stimulate the economy. 

It wasn't difficult knowledge really; it didn't require a prerequisite set of knowledge normally achieved by an undergraduate degree in a specific field of science or engineering. This created a large niche for technical writers who understood their audience -- who had a degree in joe-average-ology. And thus you all were born.

Now the tech boom is over. J. Average understands the basics of a Microsoft/Corel/Open Office suite. User interface and product design has matured to the point where less documentation is required for quite a few products. Plug and play is actually working (in some cases...). 

Generally, documents destined for J. Way-Above-average (required a science or engineering undergraduate degree prerequisite in order to understand) were authored by other J. way-above-averages who may or may not have handed them to a tech writer to "make it prettier". In many cases this did not add value, and even led to the information being screwed up as the tech writer didn't and couldn't have a clue as to what those sentences really meant.



Now the biomed boom. What products is the biomed boom producing that J. Average will need a manual to figure out how to use. Will there be a Fry's for the biomed boom? I guess that would be like a pharmacy. Do any of the pill bottles come with boxes of user guides. Not really. "Take 3 times a day with food" and "do not induce vomiting" are it. 

I've seen a few ads for biomed writers. They require backgounds in molecular biology and similar life sciences. Which is stunningly great if you have a degree in that. I used to know a micro-biology majors that worked as office temps. Now it's their turn to use that degree as a profession. And soon their office temps will be former engineers and programmers... (well maybe, but wouldn't that be ironic)

A few years a go, a biomed tech asked me about tech writing courses. She wanted get a bit more formalized in writing protocols. It wasn't something she could hand off to a generic tech writer. It was hard science. 

And that's mostly what I see when I look at biomed technical writing. It's aimed at other biomed-savvy folk. And that requires a prerequisite knowledge base at the degree level in a life science. 

I don't know about you, but I don't want any medicine or medical procedure I'm about to go through documented by someone who didn't know what they were talking about... but I would still want it written by someone who could articulate well in the language being used... 

So, those of you with degrees in life sciences, good for you. You may now get to use them...