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Subject:RE: A dark take on Tech Writing...do you agree? From:"Leonard C. Porrello" <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com> To:"Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>, "Jerry Kindall" <j -dot- kindall -at- tecplot -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 6 Nov 2008 14:07:22 -0800
I think the original poster's ideas were informed by this observation:
"With the spread during the Enlightenment of the idea of progress and of
the habits of individualist self-betterment, careers became possible, if
not expected" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career).
If you're doing the exact thing 10 years from now as you did 10 years
ago, I don't think you could call that progress.
Leonard
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 12:57 PM
To: Jerry Kindall; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: A dark take on Tech Writing...do you agree?
What I'd like to know is who defined a "career" as
necessarily having an upward mobility path? If you
have a "job" that pays you well enough to satisfy
your financial needs and enjoy enough to provide
you with personal satisfaction, why isn't staying in
it and growing enough to keep you marketable in
it for your entire working life not a "career?"
GeneK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Kindall" <j -dot- kindall -at- tecplot -dot- com>
> 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.
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Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com -dot-
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HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
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authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
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