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When you refer to "certifications" do you mean industry-awarded
certificates like CNE, MCSE, A+, CTT, etc. etc.? I do not know if such
exist, but if they do I would be highly skeptical of them for these
reasons:
1. Industry certifications are usually awarded by a company or an
"authoritative coalition" of companies based on standards set for the
expert knowledge, mastery of use, and/or training of others about their
products and/or services (i.e. Microsoft's MCSE, MCT, MOUS; Novell's CNA
and CNE; the A+ Certification--standards set by an organization of
member hardware providers if memory serves). Technical Writing covers
too many disciplines (from end-user product manuals to theoretical
engineering theses) to have a single certification cover everything one
would need.
2. There is no one single "standard" for technical writing. Many large
companies have their own style guide. Some of them, such as Microsoft,
even publish their own internal style guides for use by other companies
and writers. But some companies prefer more journalistic styles (i.e.
Chicago Manual of Style) while others prefer more academic writing (i.e.
MLA Style Guide).
What I'm saying is that when a candidate interviews for a network
support position and says, "I have an MCSE" -- that IMMEDIATELY tells
the interviewer that the candidate possesses a certain set of finite and
quantifiable knowledge that is immediately applicable to the work he or
she will be asked to do. If the STC started handing out "Certifications"
for Technical Writing, what would that really mean to an interviewer?
Not much--after all, did the candidate write aerospace manuals, software
user guides, or specification requirements for precision medical
instruments?
In my opinion, I would suggest that if one lacks a university degree in
technical communications, one would be better served by getting
certification in the software a company chooses for creating its printed
or online documentation--the more expertise you can gain with Adobe
Creative Suite, MS Office, RoboHelp, Dreamweaver or whatever software
tools your company (or target companies where you seek employment) uses
the better off you will be. Other opinions may differ, but that's my
$0.0147283694137 adjusted for inflation.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-techwr-l-219327 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-
> 219327 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Jennifer C. Bennett
> Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 11:20 PM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Certification for Technical Writers?
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> I was wondering, are there any certifications for technical writers,
like
> there are for programmers and network engineers? Are they worth the
> money/time needed to earn them? How do employers view them? Would IT
> technical writers benefit from certifying in programming languages?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jennifer
>
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