Re: Licensing tech. communicators

Subject: Re: Licensing tech. communicators
From: Len Olszewski <saslpo -at- UNX -dot- SAS -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1993 09:11:30 -0500

> Any thoughts out there on the usefulness of certification? What kinds of
> tests could be devised to measure our skills?

> K.C. Warren, warrenk -at- jacobs -dot- csos -dot- orst -dot- edu

I'm a little curious about the arguments *in favor* of certification for
technical communicators - certainly the responses to the list were
emphatically against it. Can anybody play the devil's advocate and say
what the purported advantages might be? I've been hearing this debate
for a while too, but the preponderance of argumentation is usually on
the side opposing certification. There's got to be another side to the
story. I'm willing to listen if somebody can talk the talk.

Before *I* agreed to a process of certification, I'd like to *see* the
test that could adequately measure the true scope of what I do to make a
buck. I'd also like to get some kind of guarantee that, once certified,
technical communicators wouldn't become smug and snotty like certain
*other* licensed professionals, hiding behind their certificates as they
successfully argue to pass most of their work to apprentices even as
they get higher salaries. This sounds too much like academic tenure
moved into the private sector - bad medicine, IMHO.

Would we certify technical communicators in each subject matter field?
Or would we just certify the *communication* side of the equation, and
leave subject matter expertise completely out of it? What would count
more, communication skills, or subject matter skills? Who would define
the subject matter categories? Ok, ok, I'll stop.

A side note: thanks to all who responded to my inquiry about style
sheets for text in user interfaces; all of the information I received
was very helpful, and I really appreciate it.

|Len Olszewski, Technical Writer | "If the shoe fits, it's ugly." |
|saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com|Cary, NC, USA| - Gold's Law |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|


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