RE: Education for tech writers

["Brady, Joy" <JBrady -at- alldata -dot- net>]

Peter's response to Jo Francis Byrd
	"I sense from your posting that you feel formal education is a waste
of
> time. For some it may be. Did you ever think about what you really do
> with that time you save?
> Exactly what are you sacrificing? "
> 
> 
I truly didn't get that impression from Jo's post.  What I gathered instead
is that she has managed through effort and longevity to gain a lot of the
lessons (practical and philosophical I'm sure, or she would not enjoy being
a regular poster to this list) that she could get from pursuing a formal
degree.

What's wrong with education for its own sake?  Nothing! Except it costs
plenty of money.  Many of us have student loans still to pay, and children
and spouses who need the money we make.

I LOVE to learn new things, and I can do it cheap. I get paid to learn new
things on the job.  After the day is done, I read books of my own choosing
that relate to my career.  I am taking a programming course that will not
result in a formal degree.  I subscribe to this list!  I listen to birdcall
CDs and tapes from the library to help me build my "life list" of bird
spotted.  I'm an adult with a variety of interests and demands on me. I also
make a good living and am apparently doing a good job.  It is absolutely
fair and responsible for me to consider whether the economic and temporal
impact of another degree is "worth it."

I don't think it's quite fair to write someone off as anti-education because
they express doubts about the benefits of a particular degree.

Joy