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Surely we can all agree that a writer's abilities and work ethic are far
more important than a diploma, as is the case with so many professions.
But I do want to ask a couple of questions:
1. We've recently seen a great deal of traffic on this list about
respect. Wouldn't a diploma and perhaps a nationwide certification
process add to that respect? I'm thinking along the lines of the legal
profession--attending school and then taking the bar exam. The reason
for the comparison is that attorneys often do the same sorts of things
we do: make information and documentation processes available to the
lay public.
2. We've also seen traffic on the definition/perception of what a TW
does, or can do. It seems to me that a formalized education, with its
accompanying advantages and disadvantages, increases the opportunity for
visibility. If the TW degrees get out of the English departments and
into, say, the Business and Engineering colleges then maybe we'll have
more awareness of our field. With that might come the opportunity for
increased pay and a decrease in the necessity of having to justify our
existence.
So both of these wind up having to do with respect. Anyhow, I'd be
interested in hearing some thoughts on the subject. You can tell by my
sig that I'm heavily interested in academics, but I'm also interested in
closing the distance between the classroom and the cubicle.
All the best, y'all.
Pete
Peter England
Doctoral Student
Technical Communication and Rhetoric
Texas Tech University
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+peter -dot- england=ttu -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+peter -dot- england=ttu -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of ArroxaneUllman -at- aol -dot- com
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 8:15 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Skills vs educaton (was: Senior technical writer?)
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.
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