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Subject:RE: Grad School From:Jeff Hanvey <jewahe -at- MailAndNews -dot- com> To:Nancy Johnson <NancyJ -at- photoworks -dot- com>, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 16 Oct 2000 11:40:24 -0400
>===== Original Message From Nancy Johnson <NancyJ -at- photoworks -dot- com> =====
>When I got my TW certification at the UW I spoke to one of the professors
>about this.
>She said that if you want to teach then yes, get your Masters.
>However, it will not help you much in the workplace.
I can say this is true, since I have my master's degree (in English, with a
specialty in tech writing).
Most employeers are suspicious of my degree and insist that I'm overqualified
(or not technical enough). I can't count the number of times I've heard
something along the lines, "Oh, a master's degree. How long did you spend in
school? Have you ever had a 'real' job." (usually, they're not that blunt, but
you get the idea).
Now, I downplay my degrees on my resume. They simply don't mean that much,
except that I completed a specific set of requirements and have been
"officially" trained in a certain way.
"There is fiction in the space between /The lines on your page of memories
Write it down but it doesn't mean / You're not just telling stories"
-Tracy Chapman, Telling Stories
