1-98 (March 1998) Education and Training by Thomas L. Warren U.S.A.

 

Background

During WorldWar II, the weapons systems became complicated to the point where special documents were needed to install, repair, and use them. The job of being a technical writer emerged in the defence industry as a result. After the war, in the 1950s, interest in educating these writers led to establishing academic programs in technical communication. The first graduate-level program was established at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York (RPI) in 1952, and the first undergraduate program was established at Carnegie Mellon in 1958. Since then many programs have developed, offering education leading to certificates and associate, bachelor, masters, and Ph.D. degrees. In 1973, when the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) held its first meeting, 17 schools were identified as offering programs. CPTSC has met annually since then and the number of schools offering programs has climbed steadily from the original 17 (1973) to 28 (1981) to 140 (1993).

Schools sending a representative to the annual CPTSC meeting have increased over the years from 9 in 1974 to 39 in 1993. Approximately 10 to 12% of the Society for Technical Communication membership identifies itself as being associated with academic programs-- although not all these programs offer certificates or degrees in technical communication.

 

Curriculum

Students studying technical communication as a discipline currently mix study of the theory of human communication with the practical application of that theory in projects. Frequently, the textbooks they use offer theoretical background to the instruction and require students to acknowledge that background through, for example, papers written to explain the project.

Students at Oklahoma State University, for example, have courses that range from pure theory (theories of human communication) to pure practice (internships where they work as a technical communicator in business, industry, or at a campus agency). Some courses are focused on specific skills. Undergraduate students, for example, take a course in copy editing and graduate students take a course in production editing (although they may also take the copy editing course). Other courses are focused on specific forms of technical communication (documentation, for example, is offered with the focus on writing both on paper and online). For information about the program, see our web page (http://www.okstate.edu/artsci/techwr/).

 

Conclusions

With this as background, what do you think about how technical communicators are educated - especially in your own country?

Here are my questions to you, readers of TC-Forum. How do you respond to the following assertions?

1. Technical communicators must have a technical background before working in industry, business, or government. The formal educational systems must supply that background as part of the degree programs.
2. Professional societies must directly influence how technical communicators are educated.
3. The professional societies should control the technical communication certification process, including the decisions about what knowledge should be certified.
4. The professional technical communication societies should certify formal educational programs.
5. The professional societies should offer continuing education for the technical communicator rather than the formal educational system.

"transline Deutschland - Übersetzungsdienst für technische Übersetzung"