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.
Subject:Re: A dark take on Tech Writing...do you agree? From:"Downing, David" <DavidDowning -at- users -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:57:13 -0600
From: "Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -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
-------------------------------------------------
Perhaps my definition is too liberal, but I'd say the sole distinction
between a "job" and a "career" is that a career is something you have an
emotional attachment to. You care whether the work is done well and
properly.
I guess by that definitional, technical wiring could be either a job or
a career, depending on your attitude. If you have a document that isn't
finished on time and you know you won't get penalized for delivering it
late, it's a JOB if you say, "Well, I won't get in trouble for
delivering it late and it's 5:00, so my work day is over, so I'm outta
here." It's a CAREER if you say, "I'm going to stay to finish this
because it would really upset me to see our client get it late."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
