RE: Fear of certification (was:Definition of Engineer )(was: What to do?)

["Giordano, Connie" <Connie -dot- Giordano -at- FMR -dot- COM>]

Keith,

I do view licensing and certification as separate issues.  As I understand
it, licensing would be administered by some sort of governmental agency, to
protect public health, safety or interest.  Certification is done by a
professional organization to demonstrate competence in a particular field of
endeavor.  

Certification in PR is not a requirement for the vast majority of positions
I see listed, and I received accreditation in 1989, so I've seen a lot of
postings.  Yes there are HR drones, just like there are TW drones, so there
will always be the kind of exceptions you noted.  Heck, my resume has been
tossed because I don't list Framemaker!  So I've been passed over during
someone's arbitrary process (tool sets happens to be an arbitrary process
that I find particularly heinous).  Ultimately it makes very little
difference  because I've never had a problem finding cool jobs without it.
You have to bring a lot of skills, perspectives, and plain old savvy to bear
on any given situation, and usually that's what lands me the job.

In my experience certification/accreditation is not for everyone but it is
an important concept to many who like competitiveness or testing themselves
against a standard (no matter how arbitrary).  The vast majority of
recruiters don't look for it communications fields, even though there are
several great accreditation programs available.  It is one tactic for
developing a professional body of knowledge or accepted best practices.
There's where I see TW accreditation as having particular long-term value.

If I recall correctly, Keith, you and I started our grad school programs at
about the same time... Lots of folks would say life is too short that too.

Connie Giordano
Who thinks Keith should be an accredited sig line developer



-----Original Message-----
From: kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com [mailto:kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com] 
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 2:27 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Fear of certification (was:Definition of Engineer )(was: What
to do?)



Connie's post seems to veer in two directions: in favor of certification,
but opposed to licensing, with the notion that the two are completely
different concepts.

But my concern is that others may view the line between certification and
licensing as a foggy one. Connie's fears about licensing are the same as my
fears about certification: the notion that good tech writers could get
passed over if they lack these credentials.

For most companies, the front line of the hiring process is the HR
recruiter, who may or may not have a good idea what a tech writer does. If
you get a single minded HR drone who arbitrarily decides to use
certification as a yes/no switch in the screening process, uncertified
writers are screwed.

And don't think that wouldn't happen. Those of us who've been in the game
for a while know that screening is an arbitrary process. You could get
overlooked because you didn't list RoboHelp on your resume, or because you
didn't list certification, or any other arbitrarily chosen dealbreaker.

In other words, in the wrong hands, certification could be given the same
importance as actual licensing. And let's be frank - how many HR screeners
REALLY understand what we do?

But an even bigger objection is this: life is short. I've got better things
to do with my time than undergo further training and testing to prove I am
what I already *know* I am. I'm already a tech writer. I know it, and my
paycheck keeps proving it.


Keith Cronin
No matter how much corn Jimmy may crack, I remain apathetic.

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