Re: Definition of Tech Writer, was STC is broken

[Mike Starr <mikestarr-techwr-l -at- writestarr -dot- com>]

In the grand scheme of things I'm sure you're right. I'm not sure that the Dictionary of Occupational Titles is useful for other than the interpretation of census data. In the old days, when one applied for unemployment compensation, the folks in the unemployment office listed your occupation under the appropriate D.O.T. number in order to flag jobs for which you were qualified. It may also be used by high school/college counselors. Having been prompted to get off my fat keister and actually look it up, I found it at http://www.oalj.dol.gov/libdot.htm with this revealing tidbit...

"The DOT was created by the Employment and Training Administration, and was last updated in 1991. It is included on the Office of Administrative Law Judges web site because it is a standard reference in several types of cases adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Law Judges, especially labor-related immigration cases."

Given that it was last updated 17 years ago, it's probably well past its sell-by date.

However, I note that it has been replaced by O*NET OnLine at http://online.onetcenter.org/ where I find *Technical Writer* at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/27-3042.00 with the description:

"Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

Sample of reported job titles: Technical Writer, Information Developer, Documentation Specialist, Documentation Designer, Engineering Writer, Technical Communicator"

Mike
--
Mike Starr                            WriteStarr Information Services
Technical Writer  -  Online Help Developer  -   Technical Illustrator
Graphic Designer    -    Desktop Publisher   -       MS Office Expert
(262)  694-1028  -  mike -at- writestarr -dot- com  -  http://www.writestarr.com

Gene Kim-Eng wrote:
> I'd worry about that if I thought anyone who was looking for
> a technical writer was actually using the DOL titles.
> 
> Gene Kim-Eng
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Starr" <mikestarr-techwr-l -at- writestarr -dot- com>
>> I've been objecting to STC's effort to change the definition of the job as 
>> listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles published by the US Department 
>> of Labor. My objection isn't to the changed title (technical communicator) but 
>> to the fact that the definition text they want DOL to adopt contains no 
>> reference whatsoever to writing or writer. If that happens, someone searching 
>> for a technical *writer* won't find that title.
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