Professionalism (was Agencies)

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

Ed Klopfenstein wrote:
However, Nina obviously wasn't trying to thumb her nose at these
professions [dtp and admin].  She seemed to saying more, "If 
you're a tech writer, be a tech writer."

I think Nina's point is an excellent point for people seriously entering
the industry.  If fledgling tech writers don't demand the pay and
position they strive for, employers may not take them as serious
professionals when it comes time to divvy out the more important
contracts.

The tech writer without the niche loses their edge.

The writing profession in general has been plagued by people who will work for nothing, or inappropriately low wages, in order to "see their name in print" or get a foot in the door. The problem is that even after they get started, there are many who don't know how to value themselves in the marketplace, thus they keep working for lousy pay. Sometimes, in the newspaper and magazine publishing game, one traded off better pay for the opportunity to work with an editor who could really teach you something. (Real world, vs. what you learn in school.) Or, if you just jumped in on your own, you sold to whatever market would publish you so that you could get a portfolio. But then with portfolio in hand, you knocked on doors of better markets.

As tech writers, we have many more opportunities than journalists, these days. The jobs are easier to come by and they pay better. I think the sign of a profession "coming of age" is when its practitioners know their value and demand it in the marketplace. This means refusing let employers misappropriate our skills (i.e., don't hire a person who is a techwriter, have them do admin work, and then say "I've got a techwriter".) 

Sometimes the road to where we want to go is convoluted and badly paved. It may mean working as a pseudo-clerk for a time as long as there is something to be achieved that will push us farther along toward our goal. Just never lose sight of that goal.

--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com             Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
                        Fax: (905) 513-1419
        Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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