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.
Has anyone encountered a "tech writing" job that encompasses three separate
responsibilities, that is, technical writing, translation preparation, and
doing the department's budgeting? Our four-member department creates
massive amounts of documentation that need constant revision. The medical
manuals are translated by an outside vendor into 16 or more languages. The
department is incredibly busy and understaffed. It's no mom-and-pop
enterprise either; it's one of the 10 largest conglomerates in the world.
I recently fell into this position, and what a rude awakening! The job title
is "Translation Coordinator," which I'm certainly capable of handling.
Squeezing in the overflow documentation is somewhat manageable. But making
up departmental budgets, juggling invoice dates, and trying to guess how
much money should be spent each quarter (a constantly moving target) is not
a skill I've ever needed before; the department head usually does this, in
my experience, and the worker-bee staff rarely knows anything about
budgeting. It's not that I would object to learning a new skill, but I was
surprised to find a very disappointed supervisor staring me down on the
first day because I was unable to demonstrate my accounting skills. I
suspect I won't be staying long.
Are there any other technical writers/translation coordinators/accountants
out there?
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Your Ad Here! Have a product or service you'd like to get some attention for? Use this space to get the word out! Contact lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more details.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
