[verletx64]

Technical writing is a difficult skill to be proficient at, so I think dedicated technical writers are needed in many companies. I’ve also not really seen writers be “blown off”. More often I see an absence entirely of writers, but that’s usually more to do with budgeting more than anything else. Where I’ve had writers working with me, we’re generally thankful to have someone proficient at it handling things.

With that said, I don’t really see the English major idea panning out well, just as bootstrapping a project with a bunch of CS grads probably wouldn’t. The study and analysis of literature is tangentially connected with technical writing for commercial purposes.

They can, of course, become good technical writers over time, but a huge component of what writers bring is an understanding of the audience. It goes beyond being able to write well, and academic writing is different from commercial writing.

[JHonaker]

We actually have an internship program with English graduate students to be tech writers for our data science groups. They're wonderful, and I will sing their praises anywhere I can. Having people whose primary skill is knowing how to write is extremely undervalued in Corporate America. If you're only using technical writers to help with documentation, you're doing it wrong.

[helij]

I don't think people with good writing skills are undervalued. Good writers just do other jobs than technical docs most of the time. They go to marketing/advertising.