TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Research Request (dissonance) From:"S. R. Begnoche" <begnoche -at- mindspring -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sat, 22 Jan 2000 10:15:24 -0500
I like the three profiles--in the tradition of They Might Be Giants, I'm
thinking of them as Poet Man, Macro Man, and Moola Man! :) (If you have
absolutely *no* idea what I'm talking about, see
<http://www.tmbg.org/band-info/songs/lyrics/ParticleMan.html> ).
Seriously, though, I think "team" is the key word. The first two described
here strike me as people just entering the profession who haven't developed
teamwork skills yet. They still *think* of themselves in collegiate terms
as an "English (or other liberal arts) major" or a "Science (or
engineering) major" and have the requisite collegiate disdain for those on
the other side of the fence.
Ideally, with experience & professional growth, both of these people come
to see each others' strengths, learn from each other, and recognize how
they are both assets to the team as a whole. The third player, who strikes
me as more experienced, perhaps moving into a leadership role, could also
take some role in helping this growth process along.
At 04:22 PM 1/21/00 -0600, Ed Gregory wrote:
>
>The only job dissonance I've experienced goes like this:
>
>1. The English major (working secretly on a novel/novella/screenplay/poetry
>collection) thinks the guy who specializes in writing macros is a lousy
writer
>and should be transferred to tech support or something similar.
>
>2. The Science major who creates macros for everything resents having to
teach
>the English major/novelist how to format a simple document.
>
>3. The person who does both tasks well looks at the people on either side and
>understands why their inboxes, and their pay envelopes, are not as full as
>his/her own.
>
>Fortunately, the team I'm on was designed to include a wide variety of people
>types and skill types.
