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My experience has been that the treatment you get is usually closely
related to the treatment you expect, accept and are willing to work for.
When I first started working as an engineer in the 70's, I was endlessly
told how there was a "glass ceiling" in engineering for someone from
my particular background. I didn't question it because the people who
were telling me this were people who came from the same background
whose opinions I generally thought a lot of and so didn't make much of
an effort to move up. Sure enough, 15 years later I hadn't moved up
much. When I made the move to writing, there were no such people
who had been there before me, and the astonished reactions I received
from people who realized that someone who looked like me *and* had
been trained as an engineer could write well told me that I was on
relatively untrodden ground, so I decided to not be as self-limiting.
No, 15 years later I am not making millions, nor am I likely to ever
become the CEO of this place, but I think it's safe to say that I have
gone farther in this field than most people who come from the same
place I did would ever have expected me to (including me) 30 years
ago. I won't go so far to say that all I had to do was decide not to
accept less, but it's a sure bet that I wouldn't be here if I had decided
*to* accept less as being inevitable.
Gene Kim-Eng
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Swallow" <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>
> I am so tired of hearing tech writers say "we're not appreciated" or
> "they don't involve me enough" or "I have no mobility in my career" or
> "I get no respect". This is all bullshoy. If you find yourself saying
> or believing this, then there certainly is a problem, but it's
> certainly not a result of your profession. Respect, appreciation,
> involvement, mobility... these are all very personal things. If you
> don't involve yourself, work to earn respect, do a good job and gain
> appreciation, and be an agile worker, you're not going to see the
> change you long for.
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