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<quote>Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:37:34 -0800From: "Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>Subject: Re: Information ArchitectTo: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>Message-ID: <001d01c84419$b2f793e0$8900a8c0 -at- genekoptx2>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";reply-type=original Well, there are some people who hear "engineer"and think "Casey Jones." Trying to respond to peoples' ignorance about what"technical writer" means as opposed to "data entryclerk" by inventing a new title is futile. Unless youeducate people about what you do, a few yearsdown the line people will hear "informationarchitect" or "technical communicator" and justthink "data entry clerk with delusions of grandeur." Gene Kim-Eng</quote>
Well said. Technical writers, perhaps most of all writers, should recognize the confusion created by syntactic ambiguity. Buzzwords are great, but they mean different things to different people. In IT, "architect" is normally considered the grand planner who oversees the theoretical foundation and structure and never writes a line of code. That makes combining the roles of TW and IA the source of what Festinger called, "cognitive dissonance" for the hiring manager or potential employer.
A similar situation exists with BA; TWs seem to be claiming BA skills to augment whatever other skills they list. That is ludicrous. A BA is primarily a position interfacing with upper management, secondarily with IT chiefs, and almost never with the lowly developers and documentation producers. The skill sets are totally different, yet many TWs seem to include BA in their skill list as a matter of course.
The point is that it may be counter productive to list BA or IA for a TW, because so doing begs the question, "Why are you applying for a TW position?" If you think you can handle a BA position, or an IA position, focus on getting work in those areas. Including those terms in a resume for TW is like saying, "Oh, by the way, I'm also a brain surgeon." http://www.tekwrytrs.com/Specializing in the Design, Development, and Production of:Technical Documentation - Online Content - Enterprise Websites
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