Re: RE: Texas Tech U/ tech writer experience....

[Susan W. Gallagher <sgallagher5 -at- cox -dot- net>]

It's true, some industries and industry segments rely on
the formal degree process. It is not true, however, that
you cannot earn a respectable living as a technical writer
without a degree.

It is not even true that you cannot segue into management
without a piece of paper.

There are many industries and industry segments that value
OJT, intelligence, willingness to learn, and like qualities
just as much, if not more so, than a formal degree.

My two cents...
-Sue Gallagher

> Tom Green wrote: " I don't see how it will help you get a better writing job", referring to his four year degree.
> 
George Mena answered:
> A four-year degree not mattering in this business? I think not.
> 
> I remember my first-ever tech writing job. Paid $5.50 an hour to start back in 1981, and I had no flight line experience from the USAF to help me command a higher starting rate. What I did have was my BA in Journalism and some articles I'd written for the hometown rag while I was getting my degree.
> 
> One of my first -- and, to this day, still most vivid -- memories of that first job was my overhearing a discussion between my TW lead and one of the young women who was working as a proofreader. She'd been there for awhile, and had always sought a TW position like the one I had just landed -- within the company. At one point, she asked my lead "How come he (meaning me) got the job, and I didn't?"
> 
> His answer was brutally succinct: "He's got the piece of paper."
...