Re: Oh, no -- the degree wars again!

Subject: Re: Oh, no -- the degree wars again!
From: Jason Huntington <JasonH -at- CAPTURA -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 13:51:11 -0800

Unfortunately, Kirk, you're encountering the unhindered output of:

* Technical writers
* Technical writing managers

Clearly, the requirements for counting oneself among either class of
persons do not include rigorous logical discipline or personal
compassion. Indeed, these are not the requirements for joining any
professional rank.

Examine the lines of these discussions closely because among them you
will find more than their authors could intend. You will also be
possibly the first person to do so.

Ever so wisely,

Jason R Huntington
Senior Technical Writer
(425) 487.9484 x146

Captura Software, Inc.
You may be losing money by waiting.

-----Original Message-----
From: Stamant, Kirk R [SMTP:stamankr -at- JMU -dot- EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 1997 1:16 PM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Oh, no -- the degree wars again!

A quick request for clarification,

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm a student and a novice, and I can't
help but
ask a few questions related to this whole degree war on what is
important
when hiring whom for what.

First of all, when applying for a position in technical writing,
aren't
most applicants expected to submit some sort of writing sample
to prove
that they can do what the given position requires of them? And
should not
who can prove that they can do the job well take precedent over
who went
where and got what degree?

As I am someone who is interested in this field
and the job market related to it, it is helpful to know just
what
employers look for when hiring technical writers.

Thanks all for your time and help.


Kirk





On Tue, 28 Oct 1997 15:51:39 -0500 Alexia Prendergast
<alexiap -at- SEAGATESOFTWARE -dot- COM> wrote:

> >A good writer is someone who is interested in things. I find
it hard
> >to imagine why someone who has the active interest in things
around
> them
> >that would make them a good tech writer would not have sought
a degree
> in
> >some substantial subject area.
>
> I ended up with a writing degree because I was interested in
everything,
> but couldn't get a degree in everything (I did try ;-). I
started off in
> biomedical engineering/premed, switched to comp sci, then fell
into
> writing. After graduation, I did some post-grad work in
physics (for
> fun!) Did lots of liberal arts stuff in school, too -- working
class
> literature, 18th century feminism, gender studies, political
film, etc.
> Since I left school, I've continued reading, taking classes,
exploring
> new areas, etc.
>
> The tech writers I admire have two traits in common: they are
curious
> and they are excellent writers. Their degree--or whether they
have a
> degree at all--doesn't matter one whit. Oh, yes--they tend to
be
> slightly eccentric, too.
>
> An interesting, and slightly related, note: In our STC
newsletter,
> Michael Harvey did a statistical analysis of the Carolina
Chapter's 1997
> salary survey and found that only experience predicted salary
(in 1994,
> experience and education predicted salary).
>
> Anyway, I think most of these flame wars end up boiling down
to "don't
> generalize."
>
> A.
> --
> Alexia Prendergast
> Tech Pubs Manager
> Seagate Software (Durham, NC, USA)
> mailto:alexiap -at- seagatesoftware -dot- com
>
>
> Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
> Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF
TECHWR-L)
> Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
http://www.dejanews.com/
> Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of
these.
>
>

--
Stamant, Kirk R
stamankr -at- jmu -dot- edu


Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF
TECHWR-L)
Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
http://www.dejanews.com/
Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of
these.

Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF TECHWR-L)
Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
http://www.documentation.com/, or http://www.dejanews.com/
Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of these.



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