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:Re: Certification -- what's in it for writers From:Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca> To:Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net> Date:Tue, 1 Nov 2011 16:17:56 -0700
Why yes. Certification of the vast unwashed is similar to a religious
debate. ;-)
And in the hunt for jobs, I don't think certification will make or
break a hiring decision. The initial process is more like an awards
submission than a special project completed specifically for
the credential.
My "Darwinian" thinking leads me to believe that academia will eat
itself. As higher levels of education become required for more and
more positions, the job market will experience an apocalypse. Then,
only those with presentable bodies of work will be able to get jobs.
It's kind of like that in Japan, where people get hired because of the
reputations of their previous employers, and not only their academic
credentials.
If one does NOT have a body of presentable work, (e.g. a student, or
employee of a super secret company), then that candidate will have to
learn to fake it. It may be a lot of work to scrub samples, or create
a batch of fakes at home from memory (if you can't bring copies home
with you), but it is definitely worth it.
And funny thing: presentation is key. Creating fake documents to match
the branding of a target company has gotten my friend top rates in her
last few contracts.
Certification holds as much practical value for me as skydiving. I'm
willing to do anything just for the experience. But I will not
speculate on it's affect on my job prospects.
-Tony
On 2011-11-01, at 3:03 PM, Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote:
>
> I would argue that he does not have the choice of denying others the right to apply by trying to shut down the whole program.
>
> However, if you grant him that right, then you must also grant me the right to choose to fight to keep it open 8^)
>
> -- Steve
>
>
> On Oct 31, 2011, at 12:25 PM, "Porrello, Leonard" <lporrello -at- illumina -dot- com> wrote:
>
>> I was with you (Steve Jong) until, "But you can't impose your choice on others." I don't think that is what Robert is trying to do or would propose. In response to your last comment, I would add, in the Darwinian marketplace you can't prevent tech writers from trying to take down a certification scheme that they perceive to be against their best interests.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
