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.
Subject:Entry level From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Thu, 30 Oct 1997 17:29:22 +0800
Maury wrote:
> While I do not have a degree in technical communications and have a
> long record of success in the field, I've often been made to feel that
> I'm a usurper because I didn't acquire a degree in the profession.
> However, I've been made to apologize for my educational history so
> many times that I've just decided that any company that tries to make
> me feel small because my degree is completely unrelated to the field
> is a company for which I have no desire to work.
Congratulations! With that decision, you step out of the ditch and
onto the highway to happiness.
No-one else can make you feel small. Only you can make you feel small.
I think this degree-no-degree pseudo-debate will only go away when
people realise that hiring managers' opinions of our skills are largely
irrelevant. If you know you're a good writer, nothing anyone else can
say should shake that. If you have a nagging, uneasy feeling that
you're not quite up to it. . . well, that's a hole that no job and no
qualification will ever be big enough to fill.
Regards
---
Stuart "watch out for the oncoming traffic though" Burnfield
Functional Software Pty Ltd mailto:slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au