I'm a little late to the party but... I firmly believe that you get what you pay for. And that goes for the career, too. If you walk around with a chip on your shoulder, people will respond that way.
I *will* say that it's been years and years since I've worked in a company where what I do was not valued. I'm a very integral part of the teams that make up our software development group, and even outside the software group. Many of the other groups ask me for information, just as I do them. I rarely if ever feel as if I'm the least common denominator. In fact, more often, I know more of the overall picture than many others, since I'm a bit of a hub with QA, Dev, PM, FE, and so on. I also never feel as if the fact that I am not a programmer is a detriment. I'm a professional in my own chosen field, and I'm well respected within my organization. I would suggest that you work on gaining the respect of others, rather than pulling the "woe is me" thing. Finally, I consider what I do as a writer and online help author as a career. This is NOT just a job. This is something I love to do and just so happens to be something I'm good at. If you consider being a technical writer as just a job, maybe you are in the wrong career? (Sorry if this is blunt, but really, if you aren't getting the respect you need, maybe it's something that you need to change?) ...sue On Wed, Dec 23, 2009 at 10:27 PM, raj nair <raj_gree...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > At times, I wonder why technical writers are the least common denominators > in a software company. For example, if I submit a document for review, > people schedule it for the last few hours of a business day. This amply > explains the 'importance' given to that task. Moreover, I have to work with > arrogant developers, testers, SMEs, and managers, who don't care a damn > about the information needs of technical writers. There is also an absurd > level of "technical apartheid" that at times gives a really wretched > feeling. Since a majority of the technical writers have no programming > background or releavant domain knowledge, people find it very easy to > dismiss them as irrelevant irritants. Ultimately, the conclusion that I can > arrive at is that this is a ridiculous and thankless job. Do you agree? > > > > Raj > > _________________________________________________________________ > Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. Learn more. > http://windows.microsoft.com/shop > ______________________________________________ > ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing > solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML > and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free > Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ > > > Interactive 3D Documentation > Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com > _______________________________________________ > > Technical Communication Professionals > > Post a message to the list: email t...@techcommpros.com. > > Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: > http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com > Subscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-subscr...@techcommpros.com > Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to > tcp-unsubscr...@techcommpros.com > > Need help? Contact listad...@techcommpros.com > > Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com > ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email t...@techcommpros.com. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-subscr...@techcommpros.com Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-unsubscr...@techcommpros.com Need help? Contact listad...@techcommpros.com Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
