Re: Seeking advice on English MA

Subject: Re: Seeking advice on English MA
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 14:10:44 -0700

Christine -dot- Anameier -at- seagate -dot- com wrote:
>
> A question for the other English majors among us, and for those who can
> offer an employer's perspective: does an MA in English Lit do a tech
> writer any good?

I didn't start work until I had my MA, so I'm not sure whether it gives
any advantages or not.

However, I have observed a slight tendency for more senior positions to
list a higher degree as a requirement, or as desirable. As someone
remarked in the certification thread, the suits do like qualifications -
and never mind that there are as many idiots with advanced degrees as
without them (but *different* idiots, no doubt).

Anyway, as one of the "token humanists" in a university English
Department before I started writing for a living, I am strongly against
anyone taking an advanced degree solely for job qualifications. An MA in
any subject is going to take several years of your life, so you
shouldn't even consider starting one unless you have a strong personal
interest in the subject that you're going to focus on. Otherwise, you're
not only going to miss the point of the degree, but also be frustrated
and bored.

--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com

"And Tyler smiles, Tyler smiles,
At an angry crowd stretching miles and miles,
Six hundred years, and the lesson wasn't learned."
- Attila the Stockbroker, "Tyler Smiles (22nd November, 1990)"

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

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 Conference East,
June 4-6, Baltimore, MD. Now covering Acrobat 5. Early registration deadline
April 27. http://www.pdfconference.com.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Follow-Ups:

Previous by Author: Re: Not again: certification?
Next by Author: Re: Seeking advice on English MA
Previous by Thread: RE: Seeking advice on English MA
Next by Thread: Re: Seeking advice on English MA


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads