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

[Jane Bergen <janeb -at- AIRMAIL -dot- NET>]

On 10 Dec 96 at 5:49, Eric J. Ray wrote:


> --- 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.

Eric, I think this is what the whole thread started over. I
certainly feel experience is worth a whole heck of a lot, but the
original flap started over NEW TECHNICAL WRITERS....and the FUTURE
TRENDS of the profession... by definition that would seem to
preclude your own experience in "journalism to layout/production to
teaching to translation to technical writing." It would seem to me
that all of those disciplines are very close to technical writing
skills.

I think this discussion is healthy because we need to know where
we're going as a profession. It wasn't too very many years ago that
teachers were not required to get a degree, either. Now listen to
what the teachers' organizations have to say...they are not only
recommending further education but in some places are requiring it to
maintain certification. Same for real estate agents.... I have a
friend who is a successful real estate broker with an eighth grade
education. The point is, she's now having to take COURSES to maintain
her license.

I've never seen so much angst over the inevitable. There must be a
lot of tech writers out there who are feeling very threatened by the
thoughts of any formal education. Sure, I know writers who have
never taken a college course, either....but they've been doing it
for awhile. NEW writers without education of SOME SORT (capitalized
so people will not accuse me of saying it has to be a TW degree) are
not going to find industry strewing the path with rose petals when
there are five writers standing in line with degrees.

Jane

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
janeb -at- airmail -dot- net

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