Monday, January 19, 2009

I'm going to need you to go ahead and ...

Was re-watching "Office Space" - a hilarious movie, btw - and it reminded me why I hate working in an office.

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend that you do so ASAP. It's playing right now on HBO.

HBO loves to run these new movies ("Office Space" came out in 1999 - guess in this case, it's a 10-yr. reunion).

I particularly love Gary Cole as the boss, Bill Lumbergh, and Stephen Root as Milton.

"I deal with the customers so the software engineers don't have to!"

I used to have that job, at the college where I worked right before I moved to Boston. I have to say, that was one of my favorite jobs ... possibly because I only was in the position for about a year before I moved away from Flint ...

Back then and out there, I could get a job doing that: training people on how to use the software and writing the manuals for software produced in-house. I thought I could get a similar position in the Boston area, what with all the high-tech going on here.

But NOOOOOO ... needed a degree in computer science and/or technical writing to do that out here.

Funny how you don't need a degree from a secretarial school to be a secretary (not a job to be sniffed at, btw), but you need several advanced degrees to write bloody software manuals. Seeing as how the ones being produced are so helpful and all.

Sorry. Carry on with whatever you were doing ...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's certainly one of the reasons software manuals are so bad. There seems to be some disconnect between whatever genes make good programmers and those that make good writers.

The best one I ever used is not a CS grad, but she is good at putting herself in the user's place. She asks great questions and turns the answers into great prose.

BTW, over the many years I have been programming and/or managing programmers, I have met exactly 3 CS degree holders who were really good at it. And, those three were working programmers before they went to college. Whatever they teach in those courses, it's not programming, and certainly not writing.

Gillian Swart said...

It's the same for my brother. He can build PCs (and cars) from bits and bobs, but can't get a job in the industry because he doesn't have a degree.

I think you've either got it or you don't; and no amount of college is going to give it to you if you haven't got it.

I was so fortunate that the programmers I worked with in Flint were really good. They sure didn't like dealing with the users, though!

Anonymous said...

A degree ? Oh my God, not that !! The last thing we need is ivory-tower eggheads gumming up the works. That's why I insist on my doctor having no formal training.

Gillian Swart said...

Oh my God, Bubba - you're such a gadfly! I was talking about writing, not medicine, or the law. I do actually have a degree myself, you know.

Unless you're joking again ... in that case, ignore the preceding paragraph.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully you meant gadfly as in "stimulating" rather than "annoying" - though one is often the other. I'll pretend it's the former. But yes, I was having fun with words again.

I bet back when Dick started programming they just had 1's but no 0's.

Gillian Swart said...

Bubba, you are never annoying but always stimulating! But I'm not sure Dick didn't find that last comment not a lot "stimulating" ... wow, a triple negative ...