Conference thebay::joyoflex

187.0. "Technical Fields Hiring More Women to Rewrite Jargon" by SUPER::MATTHEWS (Don't panic) Mon May 12 1986 11:46

    [From The Washington Post, March 31, 1986]
    
    The new home computer glares at you from its stand. You know its
    wires must plug in somewhere, but the instruction manual reads like
    a computer engineer's diary.
    
    Fortunately, there are a growing number of translators, mostly women,
    who can turn technical jargon such as "take the interface card and
    secure it to the printer cable" into "please plug the computer into
    the printer."
    
    Demand for writers who can break down computerese into layman terms
    is at an all-time high in today's computer-oriented world, according
    to a report issued recently by the Society for Technical Communicators.
    "There are brilliant scientists and engineers around who just can't
    translate their ideas into simple terms," a group spokesman explained.
    
    Membership in STC, which is dominated by IBM employes, has more
    than doubled, jumping from 5,000 to 10,800 during the past five
    years, according to executive director William Stolgitis. He said
    the report found that most of the technical translators are in the
    field of computing (30 percent), while the remainder are in the fields
    of electronics, autos and medicine.
    
    The results of the survey, called "Profile '85," show that the
    "typical" technical communicator is a woman who majored in English,
    graduated from college between eight and 17 years ago, works for
    the computer industry and makes $30,500 a year.
    
    The findings are based on 1,250 survey samples chosen from more
    than 3,100 completed questionnaires.
    
    One of the most interesting findings showed that 54 percent of STC's
    members are women, whereas a similar survey conducted by the society
    seven years ago found that 60 percent of the group's members were
    men.
    
    "Profile '85" also revealed that the median salary for men ($34,000)
    is higher than that for women ($27,500). Stolgitis said that this
    pay gap is smaller than those found in other fields dominated by
    women. 
    
    The report also showed that the median salary for technical writers
    in the government/military sector was $2000 higher than the $31,000
    average for all workers in private industry. New York and Pennsylvania
    offered the highest median salary to technical writers ($33,500)
    while Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio paid the lowest ($27,500).
    
    Not only have women members' ranks grown dramatically since the
    society was formed 29 years ago, but also, according to Stolgitis,
    engineers did all their own writing back then.
    
    "When the society was founded in 1958, engineers were more comfortable
    doing their own writing," he said. "Now, most of the members are
    not engineers but English majors, which shows how the profession
    has transformed since then."

    The survey also asked about education levels, types of job functions
    and number of years with the organization. It concluded that technical
    communicators are young, well-educated, satisfied with their jobs
    and are noticing an increase in the status of their field.