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> After sinking my teeth into TC, I quickly found that if I
> wanted to succeed in the field and be respected as a TC, I
> needed to go back to school.
If getting the degree helps you, then good for you. But there are a lot of
successful and respected TCs on this list without Tech Comm degrees. My lack of
a TC degree has never been a disadvantage when I've sought a job or the respect
of others, nor SHOULD it be. I know how to do my job, and I care about doing it
well; those two things deserve more respect than a degree.
> What frustrates me about other TW/TC I have worked with:
> 1. Many come from various backgrounds/disciplines and profess
> to "have a knack" for TC. Please -- if you have a knack,
> back it up with REAL training. Get a degree in the field or
> at least a certificate. Someone professing to be a TW/TC that
> has no real training in the discipline will quickly be identified
> dis-respected by those who DO have training in the field.
No way. No thanks. The experience I gain on the job is more valuable than
anything I'd pick up in a classroom. Besides, I've seen tech comm grads whose
skills didn't exactly knock my socks off. I'm in no hurry to emulate them.
I do not "profess" to be a tech writer. I AM a tech writer... with a degree in
English lit and a longstanding interest in technology. Anyone who disrespects me
for not having a TC degree (and you'd be the first, Janet) is focusing on the
wrong thing.
When you go to a restaurant, do you barge into the kitchen and demand to know
where the chefs learned their trade? Or do you judge them by the quality of the
dish they serve you?
Christine
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