My Educational Background
It is a diverse, developing field that functions within almost any industry imaginable. “Developing” doesn’t adequately sum up what I mean. It is a rich field with a longstanding history. Perhaps I should fess up and admit that it is perhaps a field that struggles with somewhat of an identity crisis. While that is undeniably true, it is, perhaps, a bit too strong. Some of the crisis stems from one of the very things that is most alluring about the field: the diversity of function and variety of industry that employs professional communicators.
Some of us are information developers (which is how I define myself); others are, for all intents and purposes, web developers; others work in information architecture, designing interfaces and what you see on the screen. There are many technical communicators who work in usability, striving to ensure that your products are usable and not dangerous. Still others are writers and editors, producing artifacts such as documentation, packaging inserts, training materials…the list goes on. Hopefully, I can provide some sort of insight through the writing and discussions over on my blog (link)