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comment by erin

Technical writing is very different from journalism. But if you find you are good at both coding and writing, that makes you ideal for communicating -- I'd even say 'translating' -- a difficult concept to a more palatable one.

I'm sure I have the communications and geek skills to be a technical writer. But I sometimes I find writing in-depth, step-by-step detail very taxing. It is actually one of the characteristics that leaves me frustrated when coding.

I don't care what anyone says; in today's computer-driven society, I don't think you have a choice in learning some tech-related skill. And I don't mean being able to post to Facebook or operate Microsoft Word. Having a basic understanding of systems and their processes, how things relate and interact, understanding how we consume technology and how to properly develop for it -- whether it be a web page, an app or new hardware -- will be as essential as reading, writing and mathematics in this century.





user-inactivated  ·  3809 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's funny, I just saw your response and wanted to comment this to you. I think you'll find this paper rather interesting, and in-line with what you're thinking. I agree with it as well. There has been an assumption that people my generation are "better with technology," but only in the sense that they're able to handle computers without issue, in the same way people a generation above us are able to handle telephones, TVs, etc. without issue. Coding, either through web-design or something like Python or C++, is a really valuable skill to have.

erin  ·  3809 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I thought of one more thing...

What's funny about knowing code and writing is that when you then apply for a programming job, it is not odd to hear, "and you have good communication skills, too!"

erin  ·  3809 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes, yes, yes!

Thank you for sharing that paper. I have bookmarked it. From a brief glance, that's exactly the kind of subject matter I've been throwing around to professors when I talk about seeing a merger of media and computer science. No -- we're not turning the j-school into a math and science geek fest; there are a lot of elements to what we do as communicators that are tied to technology and vice versa.

I have no issue with CS sticking with theoretical advancements; but I'd love to see communications schools learn from them and apply the lessons in practical settings (media is a great field in which people can accumulate skills, not just knowledge).

I think it is a false sense to think younger generations are tech savvy. They're not. This is what prompted computer engineers in the UK to create the Raspberry Pi -- to teach children basic programming and computer skills that are no longer taught (because the computer became a medium as opposed to a tool).

Thank you so much for sharing that paper!