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To whoever-you-are:
>
> My Anxieties: This is not truly a Technical Writing position,
> but is definately a Technical Communication position. I'm
> excited by the opportunity, but leary of leaving the area with
> which I am so comfortable.
One thing about growth - it's rarely comfortable. If you're really
comfortable, you're probably not really growing.
It has been my observation that the definition of what a technical
writer does changes over time, not necessarily because of the skills of
the individual but because of new tools and new demands. For instance,
five years ago I can't think of more than two or three people I knew who
were doing online Help. Now being able to do it has to be part of any
reasonably marketable tech writer's skill set.
I see your opportunity the same way. Based on our work with clients, we
feel that technical writers are going to become more general information
people, and have to become adept at learning and presenting information
in a wide variety of forms - including intranets, expert systems, etc.
It follows, then, that your opportunity is simply one of the early
positions being created to handle this kind of responsibility.
>
> I'm wondering if I take this job, whether I could readily
> move back into traditional tech writing (manuals, online help,
> etc.) if I wanted to down the road.
If, indeed, "traditional tech writing" still exists at that point. I
doubt you'd lose anything simply by having invested several years in
learning new information tools. Think about what would happen if you'd
decided to become a Java programmer instead - could you move back into
tech writing? In a New York minute!
> What do you seasoned professionals think of a move like
> this? I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons, but fear my
> judgement is a bit clouded due to my eagerness to leave
> my present position.
I'd jump at it! One of the things we're seeing in our clients is a
great deal of attention to the Help Desk databases - like Clarify,
Vantive, and Scopus to name a few. Knowing how to work with environments
like these is likely to be a wonderful asset in the next decade.
Go for it!
Elna Tymes
Los Trancos Systems
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