Re: Certification

Subject: Re: Certification
From: Caryn Rizell <CARYN_RIZELL -at- HP-ROSEVILLE-OM2 -dot- OM -dot- HP -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 11:15:00 -0800

I wish that I could have seen the teleconference on certification. I feel
that I missed a lot.

As the ongoing discussion has shown, there are a lot of issues that need to
be resolved about certification. I think we shouldn't rush to say we are
for or against certification, but instead we should just be raising as many
issues as we can that would need to be thought about.

Instead of saying, "since certification probably would do this, I am
against it", how about saying "if you are going to talk about
certification, this is something you should consider". (forgive any errors
with punctuation--I have never understood or agreed with the quotes inside
or outside the period issue)

Let's raise all the issues, put them on the table, then decide what to do
about it. If the discussion shows that certification would be too messy to
handle, let's drop it. If the issues can be resolved in a way that is
agreeable to most of us, let's pursue it.

But let's not assume anything about what certification would mean until we
actually see a proposal for certification.

Caryn Rizell
Learning Products Engineer
Hewlett-Packard


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Certification
Author: Non-HP-TECHWR-L (TECHWR-L -at- VM1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu) at HP-Roseville,unixgw3
Date: 1/4/96 6:41 AM


Garrett apparently has a lot more confidence in the establishment than I
do. I have a hard time with other people telling me they know what's best
for me. If they decide that the only people worthy of certification are
those with an MS in Technical Communication, 15 years experience and most
recent salary in excess of $100,000, many of us won't qualify. How
reasonable will the qualification criteria be? And by whose definition of
"reasonable?"

-- Karen

-------------------- ORIGINAL MESSAGE TEXT --------------------
The only people who have anything to fear from certification are those who
manage to log most of the following bullets...

* scored low on their SAT
* flunked out of school
* lied on their resume
* committed a serious felony on purpose and never regretted it
* relied on the spell-checker a lot
* never joined STC
* got kicked off this mailing list

If you hit any five of those bullets, you may not get certified if and when
it occurs. Even if you do, getting a job still comes down to getting past
an HR department, then a hiring manager, and finally dodging your way
through a 90-day probation period. If you can do all that, you might be a
good writer despite your checkered past. Maybe even certifiable.

The rest of you ought to relax. You're some of the best writers in the
world. No, you don't need no steenking badges. But you may get one anyway.

-------------------- END OF ORIGINAL MESSAGE --------------------


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