Re: Liberal Arts Grads Can't "G

[Peg Rickard <peg -dot- rickard -at- OHMEDA -dot- BOC -dot- COM>]

I rarely reply but in this instance I make the exception. I 've been a 
manager for over7 years and agree 100% with Chris' view.  Some techies may 
make great technical writers; others may not.  Some liberal arts may make 
great writers; while others may not.  It is the ability to "think outside 
the box" and the capacity to learn  that I look for in my writers - no 
matter the background.

 ----------
From: taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject:      Re: Liberal Arts Grads Can't "Grasp
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 1997 1:57PM

<<File Attachment: ENVELOPE.TXT>>
At 11:26 AM 9/10/97 -0500, you wrote:

<Much thoughtful insight about tech doc reluctantly pared>

>
>Such insularity, as I say, is especially troubling to me. Many managers
>tend to poo-poo anything not directly related to their industry. They
>downplay the links between science, culture, math, technology, etc. What
>these people tend to forget is that creativity isn't borne in a vacuum.
>If all technical writers did was write technical manuals, they'd grow
>stale and unoriginal. My advice to anyone embarking on a technical
>writing career with a liberal arts background is to stress your ability
>to simplify complex problems. You bring creative solutions to the mix,
>and if your liberal arts background is a good one, you will most likely
>be the creative focal point for any project.
>

>I appeal to all managers who read this list and fancy themselves
>enlightened not to fall into the "I can't hire you because, well, you
>have a liberal arts background." Don't neglect creative talent in favor
>of tried-and-true "technical talent." You want your tech writers to be
>creative problem solvers, not 'regurgitators' of knowledge tried and
>true.
>
>
>My two cents. To those who disagree, please respond. I'm interested.
>
>
>Chris Schweda

Chris, I would say that while you're mostly right, I think you're missing
the other side of the table.

I have, like you, a liberal arts degree. So do a good half of our brethren,
by the way. And I do think it's easier in general to teach technology to an
English major than good writing style to a programmer who flunked high
school grammar.

But in all fairness, I've known my share of English-degree wannabes who were
in residence in la-la land. They aren't interested enough in technology to
do our jobs, and in college the situation was infinitely worse; most of my
classmates wanted to be Dickens, not just read him. Technology managers of
doc groups have had their bellies filled with eager young lib-arts who
thought a perky smile and a creative writing award qualified them to be tech
writers. Good Lord, I once got a resume from a *poet* with no other
qualifications who was applying for a position as tech writer! I have
patience with newbies, but not that much.

That said, I've known my share of hard-case tech managers who merely
mistrusted lib-arts because they didn't know them well, couldn't understand
them, and couldn't deal with the skill set, so they discounted the entire
liberal arts area. Not good, for sure. Liberal arts majors are encouraged,
nay, commanded, to do the one thing that makes for a good writer: reading
outstandingly good writing for years at a time. I've never known a good
writer who wasn't also an eager reader. Words have a taste and texture that
you can only master by reading copiously. Other majors aren't in business to
do that. Lib-arts are. The training for connecting mind-to-mind is the
unique province of journalism, English, and similar disciplines. And
whatever else tech doc is, it's effective connection from one mind to 
another.

This doesn't mean that people from other disciplines should be shoved out of
line, either. I've met good writers from many fields. It's just that a
lib-arts usually has a head start. From the manager's point of view, though,
it's awesomely hard to tell who's a secret poet and who's a working writer.
Many times it's just safer to hire a technoweenie, because the choice is
more easily defended to the boss.

 I tend to be sympathetic for the plights of managers. After all, there
aren't any commonly-disseminated standards for tech doc'ers, and in the
absence of such standards, managers have to hire by gut. All too often the
gut is misinformed, but how do you correct that?.



Tim Altom
Vice President, Simply Written, Inc.
317.899.5882 (voice) 317.899.5987 (fax)
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