Grad school vs. the world

[Chuck Banks <chuck -at- ASL -dot- DL -dot- NEC -dot- COM>]

Randy,

        I think the choice depends on your goals.  If you want to
write or supervise writers, a BA degree is enough.  If you want to
manage a department or direct a larger part of the organization,
you'll need an MA or MBA.

        When you get your Masters is up to you, but I say, for
now at least, pass on it until you've been working a few years.
A Masters degree can make it hard to find a job in the beginning.
I've worked for employers who felt anyone with an MA or MBA who
was applying for an entry position was a threat or a risk.  A
threat who would take the manager's job away, or a risk who would
hang around only long enough to find a senior and better paying
position, probably elsewhere.

        Besides, large enough companies will help pay for an
advanced degree.  Even if your employer won't help, you can better
afford such a degree when working your profession.  A lot of
people are doing it, including yours truely.

        Remember, technical writing is not the dead end job it
appeared to be in the 1950s (Or so I've read.  I'm not THAT old.)
Technical communicators are becoming Project and Product and
Department managers routinely now.  Some are moving well past
that to director or vice president.  So don't limit your
asperations.

Best Regards,

Chuck Banks
--
__        ________     ______
|\\   |  ||          //              Chuck Banks
| \\  |  ||_______  ||               Senior Technical Writer
|  \\ |  ||         ||               NEC America, Inc.
|   \\|   \\______   \\______        E-Mail:      chuck -at- asl -dot- dl -dot- nec -dot- com
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