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Subject:Certification & GREs From:"Ahuja, Rasil K., Ms., IMCEN" <AhujaRK -at- HQDA -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:15:16 -0500
|Personally, I can't think of ANYTHING that all technical writers could |be
tested on with any degree of objectivity, with the possible |exception of
spelling, sentence structure, and grammar--and what would |be the point of
testing those things only?
I was going to stay out of this, but, oh well.....
I'm sure everyone has heard of the GREs. Lemme refresh your memory. The GRE
has a General Test & several Subject tests. A TW Certification Exam could be
similarly set up. Take the General Test for grammar, spelling, etc. and then
a Subject test for say hardware, software, scientific, medical, yada, yada,
yada.
I've only been in the field for a couple of years and I'm another one of
those who "fell" into it. The only reason I would go for certification is
because my experience is limited and perhaps it would show an employer that
I am serious about my profession.
A certificate will matter little to an employer if there's no proven track
record or if the writing samples are poorly written. However, if you're new
to the field it just might open a door.