RE: What's a "documentation specialist," as opposed to a writer?

["Latella, Vincent" <VINCENT -dot- LATELLA -at- saic -dot- com>]

What Sean said is very true. The question is difficult to answer because
you'll find a substantial amount of difference in responsibilities from
one job to the next, *even if* the jobs in question have identical
titles. 

To me, the "document specialist" title *sounds like* a step down from a
document manager or knowledge manager. It *sounds* less in the line of
technical writing and more in the line of information organization. That
said, who knows; I would *not* be surprised at all to see a technical
writing position titled "document specialist." 

I spend more than half of my time writing technical documents, and my
title is "trainer," so go figure. 



 

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+vincent -dot- latella=saic -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+vincent -dot- latella=saic -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Sean Brierley
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 11:20 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: What's a "documentation specialist," as opposed to a
writer?

Some folks are very focused on job titles. And, certainly, job title can
play a part in setting expectations.

I read one post by someone who disliked the term "technical
communicator" instead of "technical writer," going so far as to define
"technical communicator" as a device for transmitting communication
through the air, rather than a person who creates communication of a
technical nature. 

So, different people are going to have various degrees of appreciation
for titles. Me? I do some Website stuff, some industrial and marketing
illustration, some marketing and business writing, as well as some
technical communication--all in about equal parts. I don't just
communicate through the written word, but won't get upset if you call me
a technical writer, documentation specialist, or even a technical
communicator. I set expectations based on my performance and what I
deliver, how, and when.

Out of curiosity, I do wonder what a better title might be for me,
though <g>.

Cheers,

Sean

___________
Sean Brierley
Technical Writer
www.accu-time.com



-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sbrierley=accu-time -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sbrierley=accu-time -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of CL T
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 11:08 AM
To: Downing, David
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: What's a "documentation specialist," as opposed to a
writer?


Wow. When I've been a "Document Specialist" in the past I never felt or
did anything different than I do now as a "Technical Writer".

Perhaps it's just there to cater to people who see (or want) the titles
differently?
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solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
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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/

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