Re: STC Certification Survey

["Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM>]

Seeming that this the third go-around I've experienced with this topic
in this list, I've collated some of the points I've stated in earlier
discussions.  They are as follows:



Certification Related to Technical Writing Degrees and Experience

--  The dividing lines are almost generational.  Many experienced
writers
seem to have fallen into the profession.  Not many set out to be
Technical
Writers.  Plus, there weren't many TW/TC programs when they were in
college.  Thus, people came from many divergent backgrounds.

Today, it seems that more and more people entering (or trying to enter)
the field
set out to be tech writers, and thus entered TW/TC programs (which are
much more abundant). They may perceive the established writers as being
in the way, competition for new jobs, and wonder how anyone could have
made the bridge from studying whatever in college to being a Senior
Writer in a company.  It's like to them, the established writers haven't
paid their dues.  Many established writers worked their way into the
position. They had to perform many mundane duties and prove themselves
over and over.  To them, a new TW/TC-degreed candidate is expecting to
start at the level they worked to attain.  To the established writer,
the new TW/TC-degreed candidate has not paid their dues.

--  The people pushing the hardest for certification and TW/TC degrees
being the criteria for hire seem to be those with little experience, are
looking to get into the field, or already possess a TW/TC degree.

--  For those just entering or still green in the field, it must be
surprising that so many established Tech Writers come from so many
divergent fields.  Maybe it's perceived that they can leap frog over the
established writers by taking these divergent backgrounds out of the
equation.  That is, push for a hiring/advancement standards that favor
TW/TC degrees regardless of experience and ability.

--  Recent TW/TC grads (or soon to graduate) must be frustrated by the
job listings.  These listings want 3-10 years experience, familiarity
with tools, and often, background in non-TW disciplines (like the
ability to program).  Here, the newly-TW/TC degreed person must compete
with experienced but not TW/TC-degreed candidates.  If TW/TC was to
become the standard, the edge would automatically shift their way and
experience would take a back seat to the type of degree held by the
candidate.


Certification Vs. Companies' Needs

--  Many companies don't want a generic TW. They want a writer who also
. . . !  If you don't believe me, read the ads.  Very few look for a
straight writer without also stating that the want subject-matter
experience, technical skills/background, and so
forth.

-- Companies view jobs and candidates for those jobs as to how they may
contribute to net profit on the products and services.  Therefore, the
learning curve that each candidate faces directly affects that person's
contribution to the profit line.

If a candidate has the skills, education, background, salary
requirements, portfolio (or whatever is handed to the interviewer) that
are a match for the company's needs, I would say that they are quite
employable.

Employer:  Have you documented C++ code?
Writer:  No, but I am certified
Employer:  Was documenting C++ code part of the certification?
Writer: No
Employer: NEXT!


Certification as a Weapon Against Competition

Let's pursue another angle to this discussion.  Let's suppose that I
worked for, managed,  or even owned a technical documentation consulting
and services company.  To create an edge over much of my competition and
to convince companies with a writing staff that they should contract my
group (instead of using their own staff), I would need something that
distinguishes my company's services.  Maybe something like . . . . . . .
. a certificate!

Problem is, certification for this profession does not exist.  The field
is a wide open frontier.  Heck, any Joe who's ever written a word can
establish his own consulting firm and compete with me.  Also, companies
can hire who they want for the positions without looking for the union
label.  However, if I had this certificate I could point my finger at
the competition and say "I'm qualified and he's not.  You have to hire
me" or "I know you have a writing staff, but are they certified?".  The
trick is to make sure that the qualifications for certification are most
easily obtainable by myself and others in my consulting firm and harder
for my competition and potential client's internal writing staff.

Mike

Michael Wing (mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com)
Principal Technical Writer
Intergraph Corporation; Huntsville, Alabama
http://www.ingr.com/iss/products/mapping/
(205) 730-7250

"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good"
-- Paul (1 TH 5:21)


>----------
>From:  Penny Staples[SMTP:pstaples -at- airwire -dot- com]
>Sent:  Wednesday, June 11, 1997 2:21 PM
>To:    TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>Subject:       Re: STC Certification Survey
>
>I think certification could be a good thing for our profession,
>but it depends what we're testing for. I agree that it would be
>silly to test for knowlege of a specific computer tool
>(FrameMaker, Word, SGML, etc.).
>
>However, as things stand now, anyone who can type can
>call him or herself a Technical Writer. Regardless of whether
>or not that person can write a grammatically correct sentence,
>tell active from passive voice, or organize and write a document.
>When a person like this manages to get hired (perhaps by
>a company that has never employed a Tech Writer before),
>it makes us ALL look bad.
>
>I think that there is a core group of testable skills that all
>good technical writers have. For example:
>
>- good working knowlege of grammar and usage
>- the ability to take a set of badly written and disorganized
>notes and organize them into a readable, well-organized
>manual (or other document).
>- audience analysis skills
>
>Of course we all develop sub-specialties and areas of
>expertise. But without solid writing skills, you can't
>be a good Technical Writer, no matter what your other
>abilities are.
>
>I think there's a bit of fear associated with setting up
>"certification" tests. What if I took the test and failed?
>Would I have to stop being a Tech Writer? Or take a cut
>in pay? On the other hand, they could also be a good
>thing -- personally, if I have weaknesses in any basic
>skills, I damned well want to know about it, so that I can
>do something about it.
>
>Mu .02 worth,
>
>Penny Staples
>pstaples -at- airwire -dot- com
>
> TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
>to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
>   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
>  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
>browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
>

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html