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OK - I finally had to jump into this discussion!
Steven Warren said:
> Having a college degree shows a prospective
> employer that you have what it takes to see something through to the end.
> This establishes your character to a prospective employer.
> It proves you also have what it takes to stick out a long project.
<I don't see any correlation between having the above characteristics and
<having a college degree.
<As you can probably guess, I'm one of the folks without a degree (in
<fact, I've taken only one college course; it was on Nutrition, not
<writing; and I took it purely because of personal interests). The lack
<of a degree has never been an issue for any of my employers, nor has it
<prevented me from getting the jobs I really wanted. My employers looked
<at my experience (20 years in the microcomputer field, with experience
<in retail management, computer sales, sales support, customer support,
<training delivery, and training development, plus 9 years as a technical
<writer (including 4 years doing online Help) and checked my references.
<And voila, they pay me well to do neat stuff!
There was more but I'll stop her quote here.
I just want to say, I agree with most of her comments, and I have a degree.
Hence, the word character as I always thought was based on attributes that
distinquishes a person individually or in a group ; and includes a moral
righteousness or, whatever. I don't want to grandstand; you don't have to
possses a degree to have character; or to discern that you have
stick-to-itiveness in your professional life.
Technical Writing shows the character of the individual through their
unique writing style with or without a degree?
I remain,
Vikki
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