Skills vs education (was: Senior technical writer?)

[Damien Braniff]

Here in the UK, in the TC field, it can be an either/or/both scenario.
The closest thing here (not the same proliferation of TC degree courses
etc) would be membership of the ISTC (equivalent to STC I suppose!). To
become a member you need to:

a. possess an acceptable qualification and have had at least five years'
experience of a type acceptable to the Council, of which they must have
spent at least two years in the practice of scientific or technical
communication in a responsible position
or:
b. have had at least five years' experience in the practice of technical
communication, three years of which must have been in a responsible
position, and can satisfy the Council that they have a comprehensive
knowledge of the techniques of scientific or technical communication.

Other grades of membership (Associate, Student, Fellow) have different
criteria (see http://www.istc.org.uk/Membership/member_grades.htm for
details). While not certified as such it does mean that (usually!)
members have shown a basic knowledge/skill in the field. As with the STC
the aim has been to raise the profile of TWers and I've noticed lately
that some job adverts have included 'ISTC member' preferred so perhaps
it's working.

Damien Braniff
Sr. Technical Writer
damienb at asg.com

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