Re: no degree equals demotion

["Dawson McKnight" <dawson_mcknight -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

EP,

One possibility is to ask the HR person to change the job description of the 
next step above "Junior Technical Writer" to account for people who don't 
have Bachelor's degrees.  Many job descriptions append the phrase "or 
equivalent experience" to their requirement for a certain degree.  So the 
job description for a "Technical Writer" or "Senior Technical Writer" or 
what have you would call for a person with a "Bachelor's degree or 
equivalent experience."

I agree that a degree shouldn't have much to do with a person's level in an 
organization.  One of the most senior and knowledgeable security consultants 
in my company doesn't have a college degree, and she rocks!  Besides, it 
isn't to HR's advantage to box themselves in too much with their job 
descriptions.  What if a qualified senior person who is the perfect fit 
comes along for another job, but doesn't have a degree?  You should 
emphasize that the flexibility is to the company's advantage.

HTH,

Dawson