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Thank you for your kind welcome. Regarding your question about
certification, maybe my introduction was a bit confusing. I am a
state-certified translator. This is one of the ways to become a
qualified translator in Germany. All German federal states
(BundeslÃnder) offer this examination which is not easy and therefore
well recognised. If anyone wants to know more details, I am happy to
provide them. The German translator's association (BDUE, www.bdue.de)
usually only accepts translators with a university degree or with a
state examination as members.
As for a certification as a technical writer, I do not have one, I
learned by experience. After a couple of years as a technical translator
(mainly in software localisation) I built up the documentation group in
a software company which had about 100 employees at the time. I had
translated a lot of that stuff before, but I had not actually written
it. So it was quite hard in the beginning. Anyway, I succeeded and I
learned a lot from web resources, especially the Raycomm website, the
tekom website and the tekom seminars. Also, I acquired the (then) German
standard reference manual for technical writing, the Weka manual. So,
little by little I learned the ropes of technical writing. As you all
know, this occupation means continuous learning anyway.
I have been asked via private mail whether there is a
state-certification for technical writers in Germany. The answer is no.
There is, however, a possibility to get certified via the society of
technical writers, tekom, the German equivalent of the STC. I am a
member of tekom and I make extensive use of their web resources. Also, I
attend their annual conference in Wiesbaden. Have a look at
www.tekom.de, there is quite a lot of material available in English.
In Germany, most technical writers are either engineers with good
writing skills or (technical) translators who have gradually entered the
field of technical writing. Also, there are quite a few technical
writers with a different kind of training, such as a degree in
journalism or languages. There is however, a possibility to acquire a
university degree in technical communication. More information (in
German): http://www.tekom.de/upload/alg/Uebersicht_Hochschulen_2007.pdf.
If you want any more details, just let me know.
Kind regards
Doris Werder
State-certified translator and technical writer
Member of BDUE and tekom
Doris Werder Technical Writing and Translations
------------------------------------------------------------
English > German, German> English, Spanish> German
Electronics, IT, Politics
JahnstraÃe 8
63450 Hanau
Germany
+49 (6181) 160431
dwerder -at- t-online -dot- de
poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net schrieb:
Hello Doris,
Welcome to the list!
Right off the top, I can think of one topic to which you might be able
to contribute very quickly: "certification".
Here in the U.S., many on this list have discussed / argued (sometimes
vehemently) what "certification" is, what it means, whether it carries
any "clout" (importance) with potential employers, who actually provides
the certification, what one must do in order to become certified, what
privileges / liabilities accompany certification, and so on, and so on.
I guess it pretty much boils down to this:
* Those who already have a solid background gained from previous and
current employment are not concerned with certification and
downplay its importance.
* Those who are either starting out or are only mid-way into their
careers as technical writers want / need any "hook" they can use
to get / hold onto a job.
And now wth the worldwide economy pretty much in the tank -- no matter
what the government here tells us -- it seems pretty aparent that we
tech writers are / will be cut from our jobs more and more, thus making
"certification" possibly much more attractive.
Please educate us, oh wise one.
-- Ken in Atlanta
(where the economy sucks just as much as where anyone else is)
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