Re: TW and education (was Re: Houston Area Jobs)

["Eric J. Ray" <ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM>]

--- On Mon, 9 Dec 1996 21:44:53 +600  Jane Bergen <janeb -at- airmail -dot- net> wrote:
...
>In the final analysis, I suppose it depends on whether you consider
>technical communication a profession or just a job that only
>requires the ability to form a coherent sentence ( a view that many
>employers have taken in the past).

>Jane Bergen
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>janeb -at- airmail -dot- net

Well, in MY final analysis, it all depends on whether
you consider technical communication to be a profession
into which any person with the requisite skills and
knowledge may enter, or a job/profession that requires
merely specific academic credentials.

There are any number of different paths to the necessary
skills and knowledge. Mine went from journalism to
layout/production to teaching to translation to
technical writing. Not meaning to imply that technical
communication programs have no value, but they're
certainly not the only way to get the necessary
skills. On the job training, an awareness of the
reader, effectively applied common sense, and reasonable
writing skills can "compensate" for a considerable lack
of academic/rhetorical background. Even if you don't
have the opportunity to learn on the job, a couple
of carefully selected technical communication classes
(editing and document design come to mind) can get you
a long way down the path.

Guy et al are right -- this all gets back to (gasp)
certification, but in the form of a degree. Frankly,
I don't think that a degree in any way certifies
competence.

Eric


******************************************************
Eric J. Ray                            ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com