[TCP] certification (was: ranting STC)

[Nancy Allison]

Maybe I'm naive, but I've been able to get contract work at dozens of companies over the past 23 years by showing my samples, answering questions intelligently, and producing strongly positive recommendations from recent employers.

I've never seen a need for certification. I don't even think it would actually

>enable very
>talented TWs who have either no degree or an AA degree, but who can
>produce effective, useful documentation, to compete in the global
>marketplace with TWs with advanced degrees, but who cannot produce
>cohesive, effective work.

as David Dubin suggests. I think a certification would simply become another manipulable criterion for hiring, paying, and firing, and its value would be independent of the quality of anyone's work.

So, maybe cynical, not naive!

--Nancy