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One of life's great ironies is that the companies that seem
to care the most about having really good docs and post-
sales tech support are often the ones who can least afford
it. My recent employer experiences are practically a mirror
of yours, and I can tell you that resistance to change and
innovation doesn't stop at the manager level. My previous
direct employer RIF'd me after hiring me to take their docs
to "a new level" and then shooting down everything I tried
to do for almost three years (including changes that wouldn't
have cost them a dime or a day of development time). By
contrast, my current employer, about 1/10 the size of the
previous one, basically said, "here's what we want to do,
what do you need to make it happen?" then gave it to me.
I've accomplished more improvement and innovation in one
year here than I did in three there. In between I had two
contracting client, neither of them larger than 100 people,
who had almost no money but were willing to give time,
and I was able to do more for them in 3-6 months each
than I was at the old company. As you said, losing your
job is no fun, but sometimes it turns out to be just what you
need for both your career and your job satisfaction. :)
I have worked primarily for small and start-up software companies. I
have found them to be more likely to be interested in producing
high-quality and innovative documentation...
On the flip side, the employer before my current one was the 800-lb
gorilla in its niche, and was an absolutely horrible place to work
for...
While it's never fun to be fired, I was *very* glad that I was forced
to resign after my 9 months there.
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