Re: A dark take on Tech Writing...do you agree?

["Jerry Kindall" <j -dot- kindall -at- tecplot -dot- com>]

Collin,

I too find that having a day job that involves writing tends to use up
all my "writing mojo."  I am not much interested in more than blogging
outside of work hours, and even that not frequently anymore.

I can imagine your frustration, since you were having some success
getting published.  I used to be really interested in writing science
fiction, but I was never much better than mediocre at it, so letting it
fall by the wayside wasn't hard.  I do intend to try again after I
retire.  Anything I can earn with my writing at that point will be
gravy, after all, so I can do it solely for my own enjoyment.

Getting back to the article, it doesn't really match my experience.  I
have found that the companies I've worked for care deeply about
documentation.  (Possibly this is selection bias due to the kind of work
I do.  Documentation is much of the value of an SDK.)

While it may be true that technical writers don't get promoted to
executive positions, I don't know any technical writers who _want_ to be
executives.  If they did, they'd have gone for MBAs rather than
writing-related degrees (not that they all have writing-related degrees
either).  Contrary to the article, too, most of the executives I have
worked with have understood very well the value of good writing, and I
have often ended up collaborating with VPs on various kinds of
documents, which has been both fun and _excellent_ for my visibility
within these companies.

I just turned 40 and have actually been wondering lately why I don't
seem to have a "career."  Learning that, as a tech writer, I'm not
supposed to has actually made me feel much better!  ;-)  Seriously, as
long as I have stable work, am earning well, and have a variety of
interesting challenges to work on with smart people, all of which are
true, what more do I really want out of my work?  

The idea that everyone will just naturally end up as a manager (or an
executive) is utterly impratical -- there simply aren't enough
positions!  I imagine that leaves people in many careers continually
fighting with their peers over a management job none of them really
would enjoy, rather than cooperating and collaborating, which they might
find more rewarding.  Perhaps this is why I have found so many of my
positions virtually free of nasty office politics.  This seeems a fair
enough trade for the fact that I'll never make VP -- and it may explain
why people often say I look ten years younger than I really am.


Quoth "CL T" <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com>:
> It's funny. Because of this article I've actually escalated the
decision to
> change my career. It made me think, evaluate and reconsider what I do.
>
> While I get paid very well in this job (I live in Utah and am on par
with
> the high side of national averages) and I enjoy what I do, I have
noticed my
> desire to write decreasing. I no longer have much desire to "write for
fun".
>
> I kinda want that back...I used to love writing my own stuff, crafting
a
> work and sending it out. I wasn't "rich" doing it, but I did have a
75%
> publish rate and was working into the mainstream for much of my work.
Now? I
> just don't want to do the same "job" at home.
>
> Anyone else have that reaction? I'll always "do" tech writing, I just
don't
> think I'll be a "tech writer" for much longer.
>
> -Collin
 
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