Skills vs educaton (was: Senior technical writer?)

[ArroxaneUllman -at- aol -dot- com]

_Jessica -dot- Weissman -at- hillcrestlabs -dot- com_ 
(mailto:Jessica -dot- Weissman -at- hillcrestlabs -dot- com)   wrote:

I don't  understand why formal education in TW should be a requirement,
though it  might help.  A writer who produces good work without the
formal  education is extra-qualified, I think.  We are constantly faced
with  developing content without enough access to the sources; someone
who has  technical writing skills without the formal education has
demonstrated this  skill.

I think you could make that argument about many fields. For instance, a  very 
close friend of mine is a whiz with computers, has over fifteen years of  
experience with hardware and software, and has a dozen patents under his own  
name. Despite this, he still gets declined for jobs and contract work purely  
because he lacks a degree in CS or Engineering. I won't get into his personal  
life, but lets just say he's got medical reasons for not attending  college.
 
Perhaps what is less important than general experience or a degree is the  
type of tools or courses learned. If I were to hire a TW, I'd expect him/her to  
discuss various projects achieved with different tools as well as modern  
theories in Technical Communication. I wouldn't care whether they obtained their  
knowledge from a classroom or by their own initiative.
 
For recruiters (and managers) who know nothing about the jobs for  which they 
recruit candidates, it is far easier to weed out those who lack  degrees than 
those who lack wisdom and knowledge.
 
My three cents.
 
Arroxane

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