RE: "Credentials are so 20th century" - "The degree is doomed" - Harvard Business Review

["Al Geist" <al -at- geistarts -dot- com>]

I spent most of my time documenting complex systems that included software,
hardware, and manufacturing processes.  While a "formal" degree was not a
requirement, depending on the industry, a basic understanding of
electronics, robotics, digital/FM communication theory, and programming
(imbedded systems, process control, and networking) were required. Because
of this, most of my staff either worked previously as engineers or had an
engineering degree in addition to formal writing courses.

Al Geist-Geist Arts
Fine Art Photography
Mobile: 231-301-5770
E-mail: al -at- geistarts -dot- com
Website: www.geistarts.com 
Facebook: Geist Arts
See Also:
Technical Communication, Help, Documentation Management

"...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better to be a pilgrim
without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong threshold each
day." (Sy Safransky)

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+al=geistarts -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Julie Stickler
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 11:39 AM
To: techwr-l
Subject: Re: "Credentials are so 20th century" - "The degree is doomed" -
Harvard Business Review

It will probably happen in software before it happens anywhere else.  We
hired at least one developer straight out of high school, without even a
single college course.  (He had already founded his own software company on
the side while he was in high school.)  And we've had other developers who
have non-CS degrees (like music).

On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 3:40 AM, Lois Patterson <loisrpatterson -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:

> This article is somewhat related to the current discussion about 
> testing technical writer candidates.
>
> https://hbr.org/2014/01/the-degree-is-doomed/
>
> As we know, the practice of some HR departments is to do straight 
> filtering based on particular educational criteria. As many tech 
> writers have varied educational backgrounds, this can be a significant 
> problem when the educational requirements are narrowly defined. I'm 
> not sure how quickly this suggested change to skills and aptitude 
> testing, as described in the article, is going to occur.
>
> The article is worth reading for information about various 
> quantitative techniques for evaluating candidates, although it is not, 
> of course, specifically focused towards technical writers. But it may give
some ideas.
>
> I also think it would be useful to think about how a prospective (or
> current) technical writer could build a basket of measurable skills 
> that would establish competence. And although it might seem difficult 
> to measure how a candidate would interact with SMEs, for example, I 
> suspect there are ways to do that too.
>
>
> Lois
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, 
> communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | 
> http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as jstickler -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources 
> and info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our 
> online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our 
> public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>



--
Julie Stickler
http://heratech.wordpress.com/
Blogging about Agile and technical writing
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork,
communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as al -at- geistarts -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online
magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives