I agree with Roger above that many jobs suffer from the same problem. Job titles in general reflect very little about what anyone actually does. Certain technical communicators write exclusively, while others actively incorporate multimedia; some use desktop publishing tools while others write in DITA/XML… the job varies from organization to organization. For such diverse professions, job titles have to be either broad and generic or so specific that they leave out important duties.

I’d bet that if I asked ten people at work what my job title is, no more than one or two would know. But all ten would know exactly what I do. I suspect it’s the same for a lot of people. As for people outside of work who ask what I do, it’s usually just a pleasantry anyway, so simple answers like “I help people with computers” is generally sufficient for the both of us.

I understand the motivation to express our responsibilities in a simple, eloquent manner given what we do. But the difficulty in doing this is just another example of the challenges we face, and the significant roles we fill in technology.

Anyway, sorry for the long response to an old topic, and keep up the good work!

Alex

Right now I’m in a dept. called “User Education.” When the topic of training came up, the project manager felt it only natural that the User Education department should lead the sessions. Had we been labeled Documentation, that connection may have been less immediate.

Here’s another possible term I saw recently: “Documentation Engineer.”>

Yes, there is a body of knowledge called “technical communication,” but to call the one who creates this knowledge a “technical communicator?” It makes someone want to ask, “You communicate what? And how?” My husband said it objectifies people and makes them like high-tech objects, e.g. a cell phone or a pda… or a technical communicator. I think so, too.

I prefer the title of “Documentation Analyst.” People know what ‘Documentation’ is, and ‘Analyst’ implies more responsibility than only writing duties.

Sure, I’m a communicator, but I’m doing an awful lot of writing…

I prefer the term writer – 99% of my finished work is still written, even though the process to get there has involved many different activities (interviews, reading, attending meetings, ‘playing’ with prototypes etc etc).

There’s something about ‘communicator’ that suggests deception – a meaningless term that smacks of Wal Mart’s infamous “associate,” of trainees being called “delegates” (YUCK!) and every middle manager who is given the job title of ‘vice president’ (yeah, right!).

It’s hardly as if we’re alone in the unknown jobs department. How many people know what a production engineer does? Or how about a systems analyst? Or quantity surveyor?

Lets stick with technical writer “I write instruction manuals and on-line help and stuff like that.” Most people understand after a single sentence.

I think maybe you’ve been reading my blog and now you are using my own words against me! LOL

Seriously though, I don’t think that’s psychobabble at all. I just hadn’t thought of this in that way.

I’m going to need to rethink how I tell people what I do.

I know this sounds like a bit of psychobabble, but if we keep telling ourselves and others that tech writers write software manuals, won’t we create self-fulfilling prophecies?

However, I agree that it does clarify to others what we generally do.