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Subject:Re: Certification for Technical Communicators From:"Less is more." <yvonne -at- SATURN -dot- SMARTSTAR -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 23 Aug 1994 08:56:33 -0700
Speaking as a technical writer at a software company where none of the
programmers is certified -- of what use would certification be?
People here don't respect certification. We have a Ph.D. who is made fun of
for his lousy code. All of our programmers have at least a bachelors.
Beyond that, respect is gained by doing good work.
Everyone has to prove his or her worth when they get here. The same is true for
technical writers. I've proven my worth in several areas, so I get respect.
I don't think certification would give me extra respect or money. I think I'm
the only ACM member in the company. The programmers seem to think we spend
too much of our free time involved in STC. They don't see the benefits of
professional societies for them, so I doubt they would give much credence
to a professional certification.
I realize that a certificate would be of some use in companies where people
with other job titles have certificates. I'm just playing devil's advocate
here -- asking what good it would do me?
Yvonne DeGraw
SmartStar Corporation
yvonne -at- smartstar -dot- com
