I wouldn't say it's "ridiculous and thankless", but it is just a fact of
corporate life that some functions will be more highly valued. If I had
only limited funds and could retain either a tech writer or an engineer,
I would have to choose the engineer. We may tell people "how to make
the product work", but they do in fact make the product.
That said, I don't disagree with those that say this is a profession
with all its attendant rights and privileges and point up all the good
that we do for the corporation. I think tech writing is still in the
nebulous stage that doctoring was in back in the mid19th/early 20th
century - it's struggling to be recognized as a true profession, but not
there yet. There is no organization comparable to the AMA to take us
all the way, and I say this as a senior member of STC. It's been 56
years now.
"Business analyst" and "information architect" somehow have a more
professional ring, maybe because they have more tangible value to the
powers that be. If you can show me where my processes can be improved,
or how I can increase traffic at my website, you're providing visible
value. If you can make me a better manual than an engineer, show me how
that improves my bottom line. It may be clear to us, but it's not so to
others. The nose dive in salaries and contract rates speaks for itself.
It looks like Raj is tired of fighting the good fight. There are good
places to work that are invested in high quality writing, but they are
certainly not in the majority. Fight to get in there, fight to keep
quality up, fight to be recognized as a professional - sometimes you
just get tired of fighting. That's what vacations are for. It may look
better in 2010, Raj.
Happy Holidays
Jack DeLand
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