Some of it was temporary. The money was great and the jobs were plentiful. A lot of people came into the field in the 1990s and early 2000s. Where did they all go? Maybe some of them are still struggling to find a job. Others may have decided to go home and write that great American novel. Or they simply went back to what they were doing before they became tech writers: being chemists, teachers, nurses, carpenters, x-ray technicians.
On the other hand . . . Because of the nature of what we do, our profession is a launching pad for many different types of careers. Some tech writers from the 1990s became interested in usability and now consider themselves user experience professionals. They might have chosen to join an organization that related more directly to that field. Others moved into instructional design, programming, web design, marketing, product design, quality assurance, etc. Holly Harkness -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TCP] Does STC only care about itself? Do technical writers cease to think of themselves as technical writers because they've had to take different jobs due fluctuations in the employment landscape? Or was the larger membership temporary and due to sign-ups of newbies who got one writer job and immediately assumed that they were set in a new career for life, then bailed when the bubble burst? If it's the latter, I suppose we're probably better off without their memberships. Gene Kim-Eng ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
