This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

What SKILL (ie certification) must you have for an entry-level position within your industry?

Fe173·Jul 24, 2021

Posted in:Advice Personal Growth Resources Career Growth

I saw this very popular post on a Facebook group and wanted to post it here. What SKILL ( e.g., certification) must you have for an entry-level position within your industry? Bonus points for also naming the best/easiest place to attain that skill. ✨⭐🤩

Iynna·Jul 24, 2021

In venture capital, not a must but nice to have and can get you in faster is financial modelling (being able to do projections as a way to evaluate companies especially at the growth stage).How about you?

Fe173·Jul 25, 2021

I work as a Publications Coordinator at my company. Having good communication skills, an eye for detail, and the ability to manage different projects will set you far. For a position like this, a degree in communications, English/Writing, or the general Bachelor of Arts should be good!

RebeccaStevenson·Jul 25, 2021

For technical writing? From what I've seen in my career, a college degree in just about anything will do. I have an MA, but it's far from required. Lots of people just drift into this job from some other field. You don't even have to be particularly fluent in English.

Clarine116·Jul 25, 2021

Thats so interesting How! How did you get into tech writing? I studied tech writing and have no success landing a position at all!

RebeccaStevenson·Jul 25, 2021

This industry more than most seems to be subject to cycles. I graduated with an English degree and some experience with computers, which let me get a job doing tech support while I got my MA. That was right at the tail of the late 90s dot-com boom, so I was able to get a proper job and some experience before the bust. Over the next decade or so the industry went into a decline -- all of the graduate certificate and masters tech writing programs I knew about shut down. Since then it's come back a little, mostly as online programs, but most of the tech writers I know are my own age. It's one of the last positions companies staff up as they grow, one of the first they lay off when hard times hit, and companies that love off-shoring will offshore it. The best path is probably to get as much technical know-how as you can; API writers tend to get a bit more respect.