Skills vs educaton (was: Senior technical writer?)

Tue Oct 3 09:14:17 MDT 2006

Peter England wrote . . . . 

Surely we can all agree that a writer's abilities and work ethic are far
more important than a diploma, as is the case with so many professions.
But I do want to ask a couple of questions:

1.  We've recently seen a great deal of traffic on this list about
respect.  Wouldn't a diploma and perhaps a nationwide certification
process add to that respect? 

	I've found that individual respect is earned, or not. I have
worked 	with some folks in different fields who were marvelously well-
educated, certified (in the US sense of the term), and widely
considered to be fools and poltroons.

	If it is the respect our profession gets (or doesn't get) that
is the 	issue, this chestnut has been discussed since I entered the
field and 	became aware of the STC and its predecessors. Until we,
as a 	profession, start acting like we deserve respect, and manage
ourselves 	and our projects in a professional manner (and stop the
Rodney 	Dangerfield routine), that respect will be limited to
individuals.

	I vote against certification at every opportunity, as every
certification scheme I've seen focuses on a subset of the skills
necessary to succeed in our jobs, and, in my view (YMMV, of course),
the less important subset. Most certification schemes also include
"grandfather clauses" for silverbacks like myself, which impacts the
value of the program negatively.

 I'm thinking along the lines of the legal
profession--attending school and then taking the bar exam.  The reason
for the comparison is that attorneys often do the same sorts of things
we do:  make information and documentation processes available to the
lay public.

	There are tech writers that document API feature sets, write
procedures for insurance companies, create process docs for the space
shuttle -- the skills needed in each position certain overlap, but a
one-size certification program, I believe, would penalize some while
giving others an easy ride.	

	I've had the joy in hiring and working with some very well
qualified 	recent grads from a couple of schools that offer four
year programs in 	technical communication, and certainly view that
education as a plus 	when making a hiring decision. Once the person
has a year or two of 	professional experience, however, their
education (and where they got 	it) makes much less difference to me as
a hiring manager. 

	When I hire, I look at experience, a successful track record of
employment, and education (in about that order).

2.  We've also seen traffic on the definition/perception of what a TW
does, or can do.  It seems to me that a formalized education, with its
accompanying advantages and disadvantages, increases the opportunity for
visibility.  If the TW degrees get out of the English departments and
into, say, the Business and Engineering colleges then maybe we'll have
more awareness of our field.  With that might come the opportunity for
increased pay and a decrease in the necessity of having to justify our
existence.

	Again, the location of the Department *shouldn't* make a
difference, 	but certainly may, espeially inside the halls of
academics. See the 	insurance form documentation specialists
mentioned above. Does *their* 	education benefit from being in the
Department of Engineering?

	That said, the best recent grads with whom I've worked came from
a 	college with "tech" in it's name, so you may be on to something.
(smile)

So both of these wind up having to do with respect.  Anyhow, I'd be
interested in hearing some thoughts on the subject.  You can tell by my
sig that I'm heavily interested in academics, but I'm also interested in
closing the distance between the classroom and the cubicle.

	Respect. I've found that if you do a good job, work as a
business 	person, rather than an author, hit your deadlines, spend
your 	employer's money as if it were your own (and it is, yes?), you
will be 	respected. If you insist on debating rules of grammar,
not easying the 	revenue generation in which your company is
involved, and take pride 	in not thinking of yourself as a
business person, you likely will not 	be respected, regardless of your
education.

	Lastly, three cheers for trying to close the distance between
the 	classroom and the cube! Please continue to do so!

All the best, y'all.

	And to you!

	John
Pete

Peter England
Doctoral Student
Technical Communication and Rhetoric
Texas Tech University

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+peter.england=ttu.edu at lists.techwr-l.com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+peter.england=ttu.edu at lists.techwr-l.com] On
Behalf Of ArroxaneUllman at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 8:15 AM
To: techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com
Subject: Skills vs educaton (was: Senior technical writer?)

_Jessica.Weissman at hillcrestlabs.com_ 
(mailto:Jessica.Weissman at hillcrestlabs.com)   wrote:

I don't  understand why formal education in TW should be a requirement,
though it  might help.  A writer who produces good work without the
formal  education is extra-qualified, I think.  We are constantly faced
with  developing content without enough access to the sources; someone
who has  technical writing skills without the formal education has
demonstrated this  skill.

I think you could make that argument about many fields. For instance, a
very 
close friend of mine is a whiz with computers, has over fifteen years of

experience with hardware and software, and has a dozen patents under his
own  
name. Despite this, he still gets declined for jobs and contract work
purely  
because he lacks a degree in CS or Engineering. I won't get into his
personal  
life, but lets just say he's got medical reasons for not attending
college.

Perhaps what is less important than general experience or a degree is
the  
type of tools or courses learned. If I were to hire a TW, I'd expect
him/her to  
discuss various projects achieved with different tools as well as modern

theories in Technical Communication. I wouldn't care whether they
obtained their  
knowledge from a classroom or by their own initiative.

For recruiters (and managers) who know nothing about the jobs for  which
they 
recruit candidates, it is far easier to weed out those who lack  degrees
than 
those who lack wisdom and knowledge.

My three cents.

Arroxane

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