Respect or no?

[Eric Haddock <eric -at- ENGAGENET -dot- COM>]

   Two independent posts on the same day about the same thing:

>If you think you get no respect as a writer *now*, try being a
>technical writer.

and:

>Technical writers don't often get the respect they deserve


   Really? I guess I'm naive because I haven't heard of this before. I can
understand a few companies here and there--no matter what the profession
there's a company that won't respect it--but the above posts made it sound
like "oh yes, didn't you know? TWs aren't respected nation-wide." None of
the TWs I know personally have ever complained about it so that's the basis
my perception. Am I wearing rose colored glasses?
   If I change jobs, should I go in with the perception that it's more
likely than not that I won't be respected for what I do?

   Comments on this list are the first for me so I have to ask:

   Is there a lack of respect for technical writing at your job? I don't
mean for your personally, but is there a corporate attitude that
systematically denies all TWs in the company appropriate respect?

   Who's doing the disrespecting? Engineers? Managers? Fiction writers?


And the most important question:

   How does the company disrespect you as a TW?




 /`-_     Eric Haddock ------ http://www2.corenet.net/moonlion
{     }/  Technical writer
 \    |   Engage Networks, Inc. ----- http://www.engagenet.com
  \__*|   Milwaukee, WI

"Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words."
                                                   -- Mark Twain

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