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Subject:Re: Degree From:David Hailey <dhailey -at- ENGLISH -dot- USU -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 4 Dec 1998 15:17:05 -0700
Emru has hit the nail exactly on the head. Of all the dozens of employers I
have interviewed as a part of my research, very few care if you have a
degree. They are looking for some indication that you can do the job. They
will look for technical skills first, then writing skills. Since technical
skills often come in spite of education in writing rather than as a part of
it, many of the especially qualified writers will have no degree.
Instead, they will be interested in the evolution of technologies and will
write well. Perhaps they read a ton of SiFi, and/or they got thoroughly
involved with computers. In any case, they demonstrate that they are
technically adroit and can do the job.
This is probably not the ideal candidate, but I would rather be you and
looking for a job, than somebody who just graduated from the typical TW
program.
Ideally, I would want to be somebody who has a TW degree that provides
strong technical and writing skills. If I also had three years publications
management experience using RoboHELP, FrameMaker, and could write HTML
(especially if I could also do SQL), I could go to work just about anywhere
I wanted. I would have met the requirements for about 99% of all jobs being
offered.