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* We receive "training" to learn how to perform a job.
* We receive "education" to learn how to learn.
I would recommend that an undergraduate student take courses that reflect
his/her true intellectual interests. One can always receive "training"
after learning how to learn, which should be one's goal while an undergraduate.
I think of a technical writing curriculum as job training, as are many
business degrees (insurance, real estate, accounting). I would not
recommend that an undergraduate college student spend most of his/her
time receiving job training.
Your value to an employer will be more limited if you have skipped the
opportunity, while an undergraduate, of learning about the greater context
of your life as person, citizen, and writer that a more traditional
undergraduate degree (that is, B.A. or B.S.) can offer.
Jobs and job requirements change. Without "education" you will tend to
bear the brunt of change, rather than anticipate and participate in how
change happens.
Communicate well and prosper,
Paul Sholar ( pks -at- gensym -dot- com )
Sr. Technical Writer
Gensym Corporation
Cambridge, Massachusetts
