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Subject:Re: Do you need a degree? From:Lynn Gold <figmo -at- RAHUL -dot- NET> Date:Wed, 9 Jul 1997 13:28:27 -0700
Hillary Jones wrote:
>
>Sounds like Lynn Gold went to a not-so-good program for her tech writing
>degree! I hereby state that there are great tech writing programs all
>over the country where students share and learn from each other, the
>professors want to help you develop as a professional, and the
>curriculum *does* teach you time management skills, problem-solving
>skills, and the finer points of writing.
Begging your pardon, but I already HAD those skills before I went back to
school to finish my degree. I was able to test out of San Jose State's
upper division writing class. In my job I was planning and writing real,
honest-to-goodness manuals. My title was ALREADY "Senior Technical Writer"
when I got my BA and I was functioning as a Senior Tech Writer.
>I shudder to think where my career would be if I hadn't gotten a degree
>in technical writing! Before I got the degree, I had a "tech writing
>job" that was essentially reformatting an existing document and adding
>headings to it for *minimum wage.* And I thought it was a good job! In
>college I was also a terrific writer, but I had never heard of STC, this
>listserv, or any of the stuff tech writers keep in their tool belts
>(audience analysis, document design, etc.). Lucky for me I heard about
>my university's tech writing program and signed up for a class, or I
>might still be slaving in the salt mines at a laughable hourly wage and
>believing I was a tech writer!
I looked at the tech writing program at San Jose State and decided it would
only be teaching me things I'd already learned on the job. Maybe YOU
learned something new, but the concepts discussed in the textbooks were
concepts I already knew and was applying in my daily work. I already knew
how to put together a sentence; I learned how to write documentation by
working in a large tech writing department with lots of senior writers who
showed me the ropes. I didn't need to pay someone to teach me about
"active voice," "outline structure," or "structured programming."
>Do you need a degree? Maybe not, but I totally disagree with Lynn's
>dismissal of a technical writing degree as just a piece of paper to get
>you job interviews. I believe that what you learn on the job and what
>you learn in a tech writing program are *different* and *both valuable*!
If you go into a tech writing program knowing zippo about tech writing,
it's useful. I've recommended such schooling for a couple of friends who
can put together a sentence but are "computer naive." If, however, you are
already IN the computer industry working as an advanced-level tech writer,
the only thing the degree is going to do is open a few more doors.
--Lynn
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