Re: Education for tech writers

[Kari Gulbrandsen <kandres -at- UDel -dot- Edu>]

i also agree with joy.  i, too, am one who loves to learn for learning's sake.
when i think back to my school days-- the most important thing i learned in my
formal tech writing education was audience analysis.  the rest was pretty much
information i could have picked up on a job.  i believe that the things that
make me a good writer is that i am constantly open to new ideas and
information, i read constantly and i constantly draw on my life's experience
when i write.  and a lot of my formal coursework was very tedious and
academia-oriented.

"Brady, Joy" wrote:

> Joy wrote, What's wrong with education for its own sake?  Nothing! Except it
> costs
> plenty of money.  Many of us have student loans still to pay, and children
> and spouses who need the money we make.
>
> I LOVE to learn new things, and I can do it cheap. I get paid to learn new
> things on the job.  After the day is done, I read books of my own choosing
> that relate to my career.  I am taking a programming course that will not
> result in a formal degree.  I subscribe to this list!  I listen to birdcall
> CDs and tapes from the library to help me build my "life list" of bird
> spotted.  I'm an adult with a variety of interests and demands on me. I also
> make a good living and am apparently doing a good job.  It is absolutely
> fair and responsible for me to consider whether the economic and temporal
> impact of another degree is "worth it."