Re: Squashed ego--techwriter syndrome?

[benadam -at- CYBERDUDE -dot- COM]

I think you're right, Sean. And you're wrong.

Is this some form of doublethink? No, it's just the existence technical 
writers seem to have today. What's worse, I think they accept it too 
easily.

I went through countless contract jobs where I felt that everything I did 
was pearls before swine. I started to wonder if I hadn't become an Edsel 
mechanic, an expert in a trade for which there was absolutely no demand 
left. The people around me, even the other technical writers, seemed to 
have very little idea as to what I was doing and what was involved in my 
work, so appreciation was out of the question. At that point in time, I 
would have said to your remark, "You can't expect more, guy; that's our lot 
in life."

Everything changed when I went to my current contract job. It was my good 
fortune to be working where two former technical writers were on the staff. 
It made all the difference in the world.

Before, I always felt I had to be prepared with a defense, always had to be 
able to justify my existence, even when there were periods during which I 
could really not progress or do anything except wait for problems in 
development to be resolved. I was made to feel that I was taking too long 
to do tasks that were quite complex in reality. That all ended on my 
current contract; suddenly I didn't have to defend myself or feel guilty 
that five hours of work took five hours and not one.

It all boils down to the same problem: the role of the technical writer is 
still very poorly defined, and as time goes by, that definition is getting 
blurrier by the second.

I know that when I apply for a position, I try to be sure that the hiring 
company is in truth looking for someone with my skills; sometimes they just 
want a warm body, though, and the unsuspecting candidate gets hurt 
unnecessarily. I try to sniff out the ones who really don't have a clue as 
to what I need to know, because those companies are going to be miserable 
places to work for all but persons with the thickest of skin. If the job 
description is unclear, it usually means trouble.

Of course, you can take all the precautions to protect yourself and still 
get hurt. A case in point is a company in which the manager was so 
self-important that this person managed to alienate one qualified writer 
after the next. A writer without a sufficiently strong ego would have been 
crushed by such a manager; the ones who believed in themselves left, but 
they went on to success.

To some extent, a crushed ego can be an occupational hazard in many lines 
of work. It is just that we technical writers are more vulnerable because 
our roles are often poorly defined and, therefore, we get misused a lot. 
Before my current contract, I felt very downcast about my line of work as 
well, but I know now that it's not every place that does that.

You know you did more than "beautify." Find a place where others know it 
too -- and be happy there. It CAN be done.

- Maury