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I know the title of technical writer goes back to at least 1938. While
doing some research at the local university about 10 years ago, I ran
across a 1938 edition of the "Occupational Outlook" (published by the
Federal Government). Just for grins I decided to look up "technical
writer", not really expecting to find the job description. To my surprise,
it was listed as a recognized occupation. The definition said something
about creating instruction manuals for radio equipment. Good typing skills
were listed as a basic job requirement.
I should have photocopied that page. :-)
-- Walt Tucker
Mentor Graphics Corp.
Wilsonville, OR
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"Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the
possible exception of wrestling alligators."
-- Olin Miller
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Elna Tymes (etymes -at- LTS -dot- COM) wrote:
> Bruce-
>
> > --Some of the confusion about technical writers comes from the fact that
> > it's a relatively new profession.
>
> Minor correction - it's not as new as you think. Programming had become
> a recognized job title in the early 60's, though there still weren't
> many of them, largely because there weren't many machines and they were
> awfully expensive. Technical writing was a recognized profession, too,
> but it was mostly hardware and military.
(stuff deleted)
