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Subject:Re: Certification/Degrees From:Richard Baca <rbaca -at- VF -dot- LMMS -dot- LMCO -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 12 Dec 1996 10:06:54 EST
I'm sorry, but this seems very silly to me. Those who want to be certified,
go over there & start a certification program. Those who are against it,
go to the other side of the room & caucus. Those who don't care, carry on.
The point of certification is so that you are recognized by your union (e.g.,
AMA, ABA, Newspaper Guild, NEA,...) and potential clients or employers
and so can work in certain settings for certain levels of remuneration.
It no more makes you a professional than the Cowardly Lion's medal made
him heroic.
"Professional" is not a stamp on the forehead. It's a set of values &
attitudes manifested in behaviors. Some auto mechanics are professionals,
some doctors are flat-rate-book mechanics.
It's my responsibility to sell myself to potential clients or employers, to
define my job and its boundaries, and to not allow myself to be treated as
a beast of burden. I do not expect employers or clients to automagically
treat me as I think I should be treated. I either accept my situation or
I act to change it.
Richard Baca
Uncertified, but definitely certifiable.