Re: Do you need a degree?

["Sue Heim, San Diego" <SueH -at- VISIO -dot- COM>]

I agree with Lynn... if you are already a technical writer (senior or
no), a degree isn't gonna buy you much else other than guaranteeing
you'll get an interview at a company. I've got a degree in Landscape
Architecture, have no inclination to get a degree in tech writing (or
any other field, for that matter), and am doing just fine! In fact, just
got a fabulous new job at Visio Corporation, so I guess I ain't doing
too badly!!

As far as Hillary's statement about the job she was performing *before*
she got her degree, that's not tech writing. That was desktop
publishing, and there is a whole world of difference betwixt the two!
Writers may, in fact, perform desktop publishing *as they write,* but a
technical writer will never just *format documents* as part of the job.
So, in Hillary's case, getting a degree taught her those things that
others of us have learned OTJ.

...sue
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sue Heim
Senior Online Engineer
Visio Corporation - San Diego
  SueH -at- Visio -dot- com
  619/596-5990 x326


>-----Original Message-----
>From:  Lynn Gold [SMTP:figmo -at- RAHUL -dot- NET]
>Sent:  Wednesday, July 09, 1997 1:28 PM
>To:    TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>Subject:       Re: Do you need a degree?
>
>Hillary Jones wrote:
>>
>>Sounds like Lynn Gold went to a not-so-good program for her tech writing
>>degree! I hereby state that there are great tech writing programs all
>>over the country where students share and learn from each other, the
>>professors want to help you develop as a professional, and the
>>curriculum *does* teach you time management skills, problem-solving
>>skills, and the finer points of writing.
>
>Begging your pardon, but I already HAD those skills before I went back
>to
>school to finish my degree.  I was able to test out of San Jose State's
>upper division writing class.  In my job I was planning and writing
>real,
>honest-to-goodness manuals.  My title was ALREADY "Senior Technical
>Writer"
>when I got my BA and I was functioning as a Senior Tech Writer.
>
>>I shudder to think where my career would be if I hadn't gotten a degree
>>in technical writing! Before I got the degree, I had a "tech writing
>>job" that was essentially reformatting an existing document and adding
>>headings to it for *minimum wage.* And I thought it was a good job! In
>>college I was also a terrific writer, but I had never heard of STC, this
>>listserv, or any of the stuff tech writers keep in their tool belts
>>(audience analysis, document design, etc.). Lucky for me I heard about
>>my university's tech writing program and signed up for a class, or I
>>might still be slaving in the salt mines at a laughable hourly wage and
>>believing I was a tech writer!
>
>I looked at the tech writing program at San Jose State and decided it
>would
>only be teaching me things I'd already learned on the job.  Maybe YOU
>learned something new, but the concepts discussed in the textbooks were
>concepts I already knew and was applying in my daily work.  I already
>knew
>how to put together a sentence; I learned how to write documentation by
>working in a large tech writing department with lots of senior writers
>who
>showed me the ropes.  I didn't need to pay someone to teach me about
>"active voice," "outline structure," or "structured programming."
>
>>Do you need a degree? Maybe not, but I totally disagree with Lynn's
>>dismissal of a technical writing degree as just a piece of paper to get
>>you job interviews. I believe that what you learn on the job and what
>>you learn in a tech writing program are *different* and *both valuable*!
>
>If you go into a tech writing program knowing zippo about tech writing,
>it's useful.  I've recommended such schooling for a couple of friends
>who
>can put together a sentence but are "computer naive."  If, however, you
>are
>already IN the computer industry working as an advanced-level tech
>writer,
>the only thing the degree is going to do is open a few more doors.
>
>--Lynn
>
>
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