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Subject:RE: More about the changes coming to tech writing From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:joanne grey <clarifiedmind -at- yahoo -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 7 May 2014 12:49:31 -0400
I could have taken some indeterminate amount of hours off of work, without penalty, if I had been pursuing (say) an MBA.
As it turned out, any work-related classes I wanted to take were offered at night, anyway, and were mostly tool stuff.
As for making up an absence by "sharing with the team",....... I was the team. So that wouldn't have flown. :-)
From: joanne grey [mailto:clarifiedmind -at- yahoo -dot- com]
Sent: May-07-14 12:44 PM
To: McLauchlan, Kevin; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: More about the changes coming to tech writing
At companies that didn't pay for a writer to attend a conference, I was always able to get the time off without using PTO/vacation. One manager called it "professional courtesy" time. In return for not being charged time, I shared what I learned with the team.
On Wednesday, May 7, 2014 8:10 AM, "McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com<mailto:Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>> wrote:
For me, it would have USED vacation, as the same employers that didn't have travel and conference budgets for employees not travelling TO DO their jobs, also didn't pay salary for not being at work.
I was tempted a few times in the early 2000s, but it wasn't long before anybody who was innovating anything in the field was on-line about it, with their own sites or blogs, or - most recently - with their own self-published ebooks and other ways of monetizing.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>] On Behalf Of joanne grey
Sent: May-06-14 3:59 PM
To: Robert Lauriston; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com<mailto:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Subject: Re: More about the changes coming to tech writing
Robert, I've paid my own way to conferences for years. It's not a vacation, it's a way to keep myself up on trends. It's a way to talk to people one-on-one who I might not get to talk to otherwise and see what they are doing. What works, and what doesn't work. It's a great way to make sure I stay valuable.
I consider it money well spent. Regardless of first or second career, it's up to me to show the value I bring and show that I can add even more value. It's what gets me that extra at raise time, and what gives me more confidence that I can justify my position with the company. It lets me grow into the expanding role of tech writing instead of worrying that it's going away.
Just my .02.
-j
On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 12:43 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com<mailto:robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>> wrote:
The only people I know who go to tech writing conferences do so because their employer pays their expenses, so basically it's a free extra vacation.
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