TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: degrees From:BurkBrick -at- AOL -dot- COM Date:Mon, 6 Jun 1994 16:48:35 EDT
> What bothers me is that there are so few people out there who have those
> few simple requirements, degreed or not. The ratio of bozos to decent
> writers seems to be HUGE. Is it like this in other fields?
Definitely. I've worked with engineers who are very good, and others who
"throw parts at the product until it works."
One of the worst cases of this:
One of the guys from the shop called up to one of the engineers I worked with
and said, "Hey, we just got this product back from a customer and we can't
figure out what's wrong with it." The engineer shuffled back (really -
that's how he walked) to the faulty unit and spent two hours pulling parts
and inserting new parts. By the time he was done, there was a small pile of
parts on the floor. He got up and started shuffling back to his desk. The guy
who called him stopped the engineer and said, "What was wrong with it?" The
engineer replied, "Nothing wrong."
So much for analytical thinking and communication!
Short answer to your question: Yes, it is like this in other fields.
