Not all businesses need employees with masters degrees. This is particularly true if the degree doesn't apply directly to the company's field of interest, or to the employee's specific job. Would a master's in landscape architecture benefit a company that sells database software? Only VERY indirectly! You didn't specify what the company goals are, and perhaps the boss is right that your degree wouldn't support those goals. For example, a degree takes up a lot of time, when maybe the company knows it is going into a busy period where they need everyone working overtime. Or perhaps the goals all have to do with improved customer service, or reducing expenses, or increasing shareholder value. In these cases, any employee's individual accomplishments (like getting a degree) are not directly supporting those goals. To the bottom-line focused company, "I'm getting a master's degree" is much different than "I'm learning about the state-of-the-art theories in our field" or "I'm improving our corporate knowledge on current research" or "building relationships with the academic experts in our field" even though the mechanism - taking the classes - may be the same. Having a degree is a benefit to the individual. Increasing knowledge, skills, abilities in ways that apply directly to corporate objectives is a benefit to the company. It is up to you to describe the efforts in a way that shows how the result of the accomplishment (increased knowledge, improved processes, better communication skills, whatever) DOES meet the company goals. Splitting hairs? Maybe. But as we (should) all know, much is dependent on how you communicate things. Brenda Who believes strongly that any kind of continuing education is a good thing
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------- Brenda Huettner --Coauthor of "Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools" with Kit Brown and Char James-Tanny. _www.wordware.com/wiki/_ (http://www.wordware.com/wiki/) --Chair of IEEE/Professional Communication Society 50th Anniversary Committee. Join us at IPCC2007: Engineering the Future of Human Communication _www.ieeepcs.org/ipcc2007_ (http://www.ieeepcs.org/ipcc2007) ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
