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Subject:Re: What employers think From:Doug Osborn <doug -at- CITR -dot- UQ -dot- OZ -dot- AU> Date:Wed, 23 Feb 1994 08:27:06 EST
[Jim's interesting account deleted]
Boy, did this strike a common thread - some of the problems you mentioned
are exactly the same we have in Australia, such as viewing tech writers as
glorified typists and tool users.
>Most of our companies sell software, or some other product. So of course
>they'll be likely to undervalue jobs only tangential to the main product.
>If our companies sold technical writing, it'd be a different story.
I think this is an issue. I *don't* see my work as "tangential to the main
product". From the users' (and it's nice when "user" = "customer") point of
view, a tech writer's work is integral to the product.
The value by tech writers added to software or other products produced by
software enginerering firms is enormous compared to the equivalent number of
programmers. I think this is a point we have to get accross to management if
we want our work appropriately valued, and our profession recognised as a
profession.
Anyway, just a thought.
Cheers,
Doug
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Doug Osborn | Centre for Information Technology Research
Technical writer | Level 6, Gehrmann Laboratories
InterNet: doug -at- citrus -dot- uq -dot- oz -dot- au | The University of Qld, St Lucia
Phone : +61 7 365 4475 | Qld, Australia 4072. Fax: +61 7 365 4399
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