Re: Importance of Education

Subject: Re: Importance of Education
From: "Tony G. Rocco" <trocco -at- NAVIS -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 12:15:42 -0800

I wholeheartedly concur with you, Vickie. I think the field of technical
communication is beginning to mature, and that means there is important
stuff to teach people and people qualified to teach it. Hence there are
degree programs just as there are trade organizations, symposia,
conferences, scholarly research papers, etc. Technical communication is a
very new profession as professions go, but it's getting there, and that
means the emergence of degree programs and the eventual necessity to have
one. It's about time.

- tgr

At 3:10 AM +0000 10/30/97, Vickie Morgan wrote:


>Response to English and Technical Writing Degrees as a Waste
>
>I strongly agree with Wayne:
>
>English and Technical writing certainly have my vote. I have earned a
>BA in English (Literature and Creative Writing), and I am currently
>working towards a masters in Technical Communication. I was apalled at
>the statements that these would be the least desired fields!
>
>I Have spent the last 6 years of my life doing exactly what I
>love-WRITING! I have published poetry, presented a paper at a
>literature conference and best of all, I am now working on the field I
>love most--Technical Writing. It is not about learning a few computer
>programs--though I have learned a great many of them on my own!
>
>I know the issues facing the field today. I have done solo and
>collaborative projects, documentation and management, and I am currently
>working on an internship for NASA transferring their RetrievalWare
>software manual to online.
>
>I can build a nice web page and also feel greatly comfortable with an
>area of PR, because I was taught the theory behind: document design,
>editing, human factors, readability, uasbility, collaboration and
>project managment, among many others.
>
>I will be graduating in 6 months, and I know that most employers will
>find my skills stronger than most experienced technical writers that
>"learned it on their own." I am thankful for my education because it
>has given me the foundation to make educated decisions and improvements
>in an area of our field that I decide to enter.
>
>I agree that this is a field where people can teach themselves the
>practical skills, but what about the foundations of our profession?
>
>Learning computer programs is not a requirement of our program, I do it
>because I am curious and interested.
>
>Maybe the people making these references should reconsider what they are
>saying. I am part of the first generation that is really getting
>educated for this job, and it is about time!
>
>
>Victoria Morgan Sharpe
>East Carolina University
>STC Student Chapter President
>
>Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
>Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF TECHWR-L)
>Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
>Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of these.

Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF TECHWR-L)
Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
http://www.documentation.com/, or http://www.dejanews.com/
Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of these.



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