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Subject:Re: Experience VS Ability From:Nora Merhar <nmerhar -at- CHASIND -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:36:08 -0500
Whoa, Buck!
As a broke and in-debt graduate student, I had NO resources with which
to buy software--nor did I have a PC on which to put that software.
Your advice may be fine for someone who already has a job, and the
resources to buy the software you feel is necessary to know for this
field, BUT
In my first job out of graduate school, I used WP 5.1 for DOS. I
learned it on the job.
In my second job, I used Interleaf 5. My company sent me to a
week-long class to get me started; then I learned on the job.
In my current job, I use Interleaf 6. I'm learning it on the job (only
been here 3 weeks). Interestingly, one of the jobs that I was offered
during my most recent job search would have required me to learn
FrameMaker. They didn't see that as a problem, and neither did I.
In my second job, I also learned Robohelp, HotDog, MS Word, and a
number of other software programs. I expect to learn just as much on
this job.
In some cases, I'm sure people ARE hired, at least in part, because of
the software they know. The attitude of my managers (in my limited job
experience), though, has been "Here's a software package--go learn it
and do this project!" or even better (I love this) "Go find yourself a
software package, learn it, and do this project!"
Seems to me that a TW who can do the above would be more valuable to
most companies than someone with a long list of SW to their credit and
no flexibility.
Nora
nmerhar -at- chasind -dot- com
p.s. For the record, my undergraduate degree was in English, and my
graduate degree was in Technical Writing. I've been working as a TW
since I graduated (about 6 years ago). I think certification is
silly.
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