TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: undergrad tech writing students From:Stewart Lindsay <slindsay -at- WATARTS -dot- UWATERLOO -dot- CA> Date:Fri, 26 Mar 1993 23:31:37 -0500
On Fri, 26 Mar 1993 Gladys_We -at- SFU -dot- CA wrote:
> >However, other students have expressed considerable interest in the
> > list and the idea of tech writing as a career choice.
> Something amusing for you folks in the US...
> We run non-credit courses in technical writing at Simon Fraser University
> (Vancouver, Canada). In one of the introductory courses this January, a
> student asked if an undergrad/graduate degree in technical writing was an
> asset. The instructor's answer: "Well, it would have a little novelty
> value." (There are no established programs in technical writing in Canada;
> almost every technical writer in Vancouver has come from another field,
> with very few credentials in technical writing.)
No established programs in Canada? Well, gee, I guess that the graduate
program in Language and Professional Writing that I'm in doesn't count.
Nor does the undergrad program in Rhetoric and Prof. Writing that was
cited by MacLeans magazine (Canadian Time) as one of the main reasons UW
was ranked the number one medium sized University in Canada.
Talk to your colleague Janet Gilthrow - she gave a series of very
informative seminars here in the fall.
I believe York University also has an established Tech Writing program
Stewart Lindsay
Language and Professional Writing
University of Waterloo
