[innocentoldguy]

> Primarily because it's a far, far more complicated job than that and you can't really hire someone off the street to do it effectively.

This comment is absolutely true and many, of not most, companies fail to understand it. I think the problem stems from corporate-people thinking, "Why should I pay a writer when we all speak English (or whatever language) and can write it ourselves." And that's why so many companies have shitty documentation.

> ...so that begs the question why not make twice as much working as a software developer and not have to sort out these types of messes?

I was a software engineer for 30+ years and got completely burned out on it, so I left engineering to do technical writing. So far, I like it much better because I have far more control over my time. In my experience so far, the sorting-out-messes work is about the same in either field. Both jobs are pretty complex. I also make exactly the same as I did while working as an engineer.

I think the secret to not being first on the chopping block is to show you're delivering value to customers and internal teams. At least I attribute that to my survival through multiple layoffs so far.

[bentcorner]

> I was a software engineer for 30+ years and got completely burned out on it, so I left engineering to do technical writing

How did you make this transition? Any credentials/certifications you needed? Did you transition within the same company?

[innocentoldguy]

My college degree was in writing, so I used that and a portfolio to make the transition. During interviews, it seems my software engineering experience and portfolio are more valued than my writing degree though.