RE: STC certification: what's in it for tech writers?

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gene Kim-Eng


> 
> I'm not talking about degrees here.  It's a given for me that the
> person
> contemplating submitting his/her application for certification already
> has a
> degree and has moved past the initial gating point to enter the
> profession,
> since the cert process doesn't even have a "writer in training"
> category for
> students or new grads.  I'm talking about spending the time, effort and
> money on some post-grad continuing education related to the working
> domain
> and which "certificate," STC or training completion, would provide the
> biggest bang for the buck on a resume.  IOW, Tech Comm bachelors + STC
> certification, or Tech Comm bachelors + cert in C++ Programming or
> Industrial Safety?

?? It's a given that the candidate has a degree, and then the only 
examples you mention are Tech Comm bachelor plus...?

Bachelor degrees in Technical Communication didn't even exist when 
I was starting - ok, they existed in one or two American colleges, 
far, far from me, but were about as plentiful as hen's teeth, and 
of generally no consequence to anybody in the real world.  And I'm 
talking about the 1980s, not the '50s... 

I've been asked if I had a degree in electrical engineering or 
computer science, and even then it didn't turn out to be a 
barrier to getting the job. (My ticket was in digital electronics, 
when I was interviewing for [and getting] a job with a power 
microwave systems company - i.e., very little connection between 
my education and the company's work which was entirely analog in 
those days.)  In my next gig, the education section of my resumé 
was never mentioned, and in the interviews for my current gig, 
it came up very casually in the context of "why did I gravitate 
toward electronics? answer: I operated comms equipment in the 
military ['70s] and was always intrigued by the gnomes who came around 
and fixed the stuff, so I decided to become one...:-)  )

Perhaps I've been overlooked for a phone call because my 
resumé didn't contain a techwriting degree, but it'd be 
news to me. 

Maybe it's just the region (middle Canada) and the industries 
that I've worked (computers, satellite comms, cellular 
comms, data security systems), but techcomm degrees have been a 
complete non-issue throughout my own history. 

Granted, that might have changed if I have to find yet another 
gig before I retire... but so far... not so much.

 - k
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