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Subject:Re: Another GenX-er heard from From:AndreaK <andreak -at- ASTOUND -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:38:01 -0400
Every day I want to wade into this degree/non degree argument and I hold myself back, but I guess my will power isn't as strong today.
First things first, those of us who went straight to university from high school and have recently graduated, or are about to graduate from university are not Gen-Xers. Gen X-ers are the tail end of the baby boom. We are Baby Busters, so named because there are much fewer of us than there are Boomers. (See a book called Boom, Bust, and Echo (I forget the name of the author) for a full explanation)
Anyway, I do agree with Matthew Long that those of us starting out will find the degree very usefull, it's how we get our feet in the door (I have 2 of them myself). If you can find a co-op program so that you are graduating with education and work experience, all the better. I currently work full time for the last company I had a co-op job with when I was finishing my M.A. I may not have a job if I had not done a Master's Degree in Professional Writing, but I believe that is largely because it was a co-op program that allowed me to graduate with work experience. Also, as a higher proportion of Busters have degrees of some sort, it is more difficult for people our age to get any type of job without a degree in something.
On the other hand, as a tech writer, my degree doesn't make me any better than someone with experience. I would love to be able to work with someone with lots of experience and be able to learn from him or her, and I wouldn't care whether or not the person has a degree. As a person, I don't think that I am necessarily better or smarter than anyone who doesn't have a degree. As someone else said, it just means I have a different skill set. My father is a very intelligent man, he has built his own house boat, built his own barns, can drive a four-in-hand of horses, has forgotten more mathematics than I will ever know, and never finished high school.
Andrea Kelso
Technical Writer, Astound Incorporated
Andreak -at- astound -dot- com
My opinions don't necessarily agree with those of the company. My opinions don't even necessarily agree with my other opinions.
O God, O Venus, O Mercury, patron of thieves,
Lend me a little tobacco-shop,
or install me in any profession
Save this damn'd profession of writing,
where one needs one's brains all the time.
(Ezra Pound)
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