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.
I spend approximately 20 percent of my time doing writing. The rest is
research, testing, analysis, UI design, web design marketing, training,
production, and playing MS Office Maven. I do whatever it takes to create a
good product that people will use.
Technical Communicator may be a bit fluffy, but Technical Writer is more
than a bit of misnomer. I've been trying to get the title changed to
something other than Technical Writer for three years, but as the powers
that be have decided to "wind down operations" in this little corner of
wholly owned corporate utopia over the next two years, I'd day it's kind of
pointless to belabor it until the next gig rolls around.
I do like that Information Hunter/Gatherer idea though.
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Brundt [mailto:andrea_w_brundt -at- hotmail -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2003 12:41 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Tech Writing Skills, College Degrees, Marketable Skills
"I am a technical communicator. I use all tools available to me to get the
right info to the right people at the right time."
Hi everybody,
Nothing personal against you Technical Communicators out there, but I always
found the term a bit fluffy. "Communicator" is such a amorphous word...could
be a writer, could be a trainer, could be the device on your desk, could be
a circuit in that device...
I always preferred writer (as in Goober Writer?). It works for the same
reason Hunter-Gatherer works. Maybe because it smells of work rather than
silos cleverly disguised as ivory towers.
This reminds me of a techwr-l thread a while back that discussed whether one
can be a manager when one manages documents but not people. Titles are funny
things. When I started at my current gig, I was the Team Lead. Then my whole
team was laid off. The execs reassured me that I was still the Team Lead,
and should function as one in the company. I laughed it off, and told them
the title was ridiculous under the circumstances and I was embarrassed to
appear on the org chart as a Team Lead with no other names around or
underneath mine.
Last week, I had a conversation with my boss. She was dangling an assortment
of carrots in front of me (money, fame, immortality, great cosmic powers,
etc) and told me that there might be a higher-level position for me in the
future. She then explained that it likely wouldn't be called a management
position, but that wouldn't matter because she knows titles aren't important
to me. I guess that's what she gathered from my discomfort about the Team
Lead thing..that titles aren't important to me.
Anyway, it's all kinda funny and sad. Speaking of amorphous, I'm going to
end this ramble now. Regards, Andrea
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