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Subject:Re: BS or BA in tech comm From:David Neeley <dbneeley -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sat, 9 Jul 2005 17:34:31 -0500
For anyone involved in a degree program, there are opportunities to
acquire various software tools for a fraction of retail. Thus, using
these popular tools for projects during the degree program, perhaps
also writing documentation for an open source project that will be
widely distributed--and by the time of graduation you could have an
extremely useful portfolio.
Choose your topics carefully and do good work, and you'll be miles
ahead of many who have been working in the field in the meantime--many
have been doing the same thing over and over, with little real
responsibility for publications--usually they are working directly for
more senior people for the first couple of years.
It's the ones who graduate with a degree and a minor in "party" who
assess the field with bright eyes--and no clue about what it takes to
be employed.
A degree in tech comm, perhaps with a minor in a scientific or
technical discipline, and some first-rate portfolio samples and you
should be a fairly hot ticket anywhere. That combination shows
seriousness of purpose, already-acquired skills, and a professinalism
rare in the new grads.
> By all means, go for the degree, but
> never believe that it will teach you what you need to know to be a competent
> technical writer--you have to learn that outside (and in addition to) the
> various programs available.
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