TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Sally Derrick
Tivoli Systems Inc.
sally -at- tivoli -dot- com
Dan Martillotti writes:
> The idea that we as writers need to certify ourselves is useless unless you
> can convince all the hiring managers not to hire a writer unless they are
> certified. And to be honest, I bet most managers are going to say to
> themselves, "Self, why hire a certified tech writer and pay them $45,000
> a year? This writer here has just as good a set of credentials, interviewed
> well, appears to write as well, but isn't certified. I'll bet he'll work for
> less... :-> Won't my boss be happy I saved the company money."
> Remember, certification does not guarantee anything. There are certified
> doctors who are quacks, there are certified lawyers who can't argue a case,
> there are certified mechanics that botch car engines, there
> are certified accounts who can't balance the books...I'm sure there are many
> more that I can't think of right now.
> IMHO, certification will do nothing for the profession of technical writing,
> outside of working for about 5% of the folks and working against about 5% of
> the folks. With such a diverse field (software manuals, reports, medical
> writing, editing, technical marketing, hardware manuals, technical journals,
> web publishers, on-line help writers, etc), how can there be a fair
cetification
> process? The only certification we need is our skills.
