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Subject:Re: Do you need a degree? From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 12 Jul 1997 20:28:57 -0400
Mary Shaw <MShaw -at- MONEYNET -dot- COM> wrote:
>Another possibility: Those involved in the hiring process,
>particularly other writers who interview you, might be of
>the mindset that "I finished *my* degree in preparation
>for the job, so they should have to have finished *their*
>degrees, too!" (Not always a fair or valid point of view,
>but I've encountered that mindset at more than one
I think that many employers prefer a degree simply because it's
quantifiable: you either don't have a degree, or you have a BA, MA or
doctorate--it's as simple as that.
It's hard to remember, but interviewing is often as hard for the
interviewer as for the interviewee. Many interviewers don't know what to
look for, especially when interviewing for technical writing, which has
only emerged as a widely recognized field in the last decade. Degrees
give them something concrete to go by.
Of course, this view is limited. A degree or lack of one doesn't say too
much about a person's ability. But it's very human for interviewers to
cling to something to which they can get a definite answer.
--
Bruce Byfield (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)
Technical Writer / Job Bank Team, STC Canada West Coast Chapter
h: (604) 421-7189
"And ye may tell my kith and kin,
I never did disgrace their bluid,
And if they see the bishop's cloak,
To mak' it shorter by the hood!"
--Anonymous, "Hugh the Graham"
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