RE: Skills vs education (was: Senior technical writer?)

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

No one was belittling your education or disparaging your profession, Eric. Really. 

Richard 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> techwr-l-bounces+richard -dot- combs=polycom -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+richard -dot- combs=polycom -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techw
r-l.com] On Behalf Of eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com
> Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 3:48 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Skills vs education (was: Senior technical writer?)
> 
> This discussion really is OT and I think I'm starting to 
> forget the point.
> 
> "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com> wrote on 
> 10/03/2006 04:00:47
> PM:
> > Doctors and lawyers must have 7 years of college before they begin 
> > their "apprenticeship, other OTJ training, and continued 
> learning/study."
> > Engineers can do so after 4.
> 
> This argument is descending into stupidity and minutia. So 
> doctors have extra years of Med School after 
> college/university. Fine. How does all this bickering over 
> specifics change my points that engineering has as much of a 
> controlled atmosphere and you DO NOT become a professional 
> "simply" by graduating B.Eng.?
> 
> Wasn't this discussion started with:
> 
> Kevin wrote on 10/02/2006 11:31:25 AM:
> > Engineers can become pros with only an engineering undergrad degree
> 
> Engineers just hit "residency" a few years ahead of doctors. 
> Doesn't change my point that you're not a Professional 
> Engineer until you've done your internship and passed the 
> Professional order exams. So I fail to understand the 
> relevance of proving more years of education or splitting the 
> professions. What was the point? How does it change the point 
> of my side comment that you aren't and can't be "pro" just by 
> graduating B.Eng?
> 
> And then:
> > Only the engineers
> > get their profession-specific academic training as undergrads.
> 
> Which is patently and unarguably false. Training of engineers 
> at the B.Eng. level is ABSOLUTELY no more 
> "profession-specific " than B.Sci Pre-med. An engineer can 
> get an engineering related job with a B.Eng. Just as a med 
> student could undoubtedly get a medicine related job with 
> pre-med. But for either to gain the status of "Professional" 
> or to specialise requires much further study.
> 
> I didn't even disagree with Kevin's post. Only took issue 
> with that one small quoted portion. Others seemed more intent 
> on proving what graduating as B.Eng or Pre-med means. Funny 
> that as an Engineering graduate I'm getting the feeling that 
> I'm being told I don't understand the reality of the 2 years 
> of college and four years of university that I went through. 
> Nor the additional requirements it would take to become 
> recognised as a professional in an Engineering field. I think 
> that being told that "I'm not getting it" by people who are 
> equally "not getting" my point is starting to get to me. It 
> is also for this reason I made the side thread to clarify the 
> difference between a Professional Engineer and a profession 
> that appropriates the title of engineer.
> 
> Otherwise I think the thread demonstrates very well the evils 
> of over-education and certification. The debate is no where 
> near discussing actual skills and competencies but mired in 
> an all out simplistic barrage of "more years in school is 
> better" and constitutes "profession specific" 
> academic learning or not. IMO, the affliction of both 
> Doctors, Engineers, and some other "certifiable" professions 
> is that many of them are like bricklayers who can detail the 
> composition and properties of bricks and mortar in 
> excruciating detail but couldn't build a wall properly if 
> their life depended on it.
> 
> Eric L. Dunn
> Senior Technical Writer
> 
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