Re: Economist magazine points to decline of tech writing

[Daniel Friedman <daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Seems like the main issue is it glosses over the more active roles of a
technical writer. Yes we "Maintain records and files of work and
revisions," but more in the sense that we recommend and implement the
systems (Subversion, for example) that automate these processes. It also
misses things like project management an analysis, which are both critical
skills for a technical writer to have in my opinion.

After a second read, I see what you're saying that the list is simplifying
the profession to the point where one could think you could automate the
whole process or make it redundant by passing the work to non-specialists
(engineers or developers).

On Fri, Jan 2, 2015 at 1:19 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
wrote:

> Ah, if you click the Details tab, you see where the academics got
> their garbage numbers:
>
> http://www.onetonline.org/link/details/27-3042.00
>
> The second-most-important item on the task list is "Maintain records
> and files of work and revisions," which at least for me was automated
> years ago.
>
> It reads like a job that's mostly editing other people's work with a
> lot of computerizable clerical activities. There were jobs like that
> during the dot-com boom but I think most of those people have been
> shaken out of the profession.
>
> On Fri, Jan 2, 2015 at 8:55 AM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
> wrote:
> > Here's the entry for technical writers from O*NET, which provided the
> > bulk of the data for the study's algorithm:
> >
> > http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3042.00
> >
> > The Tasks section includes mostly things I never do ("arrange for
> > typing"?) and is missing the core tasks I spend most of my time on.
> >
> > Garbage in, garbage out.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork,
> communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as daniel -dot- friedman42 -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>



-- 
*Daniel Friedman*
*friedmantechpublications.com* <http://friedmantechpublications.com>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives