Credentialization
A Real Thing and Also a Real Word
It would be a real word now, because I wrote it and you understood it, even if it weren’t already. Credentialization refers to the process of earning credentials and also to the tendency of organizations—or the labor market in general—to require more and more credentials for jobs (“the credentialization of the editor role,” for example). Credential inflation, if you will.
A few generations ago, college degrees were fairly rare and a bachelor’s degree set somebody apart in the job market. In 1960, less than 8 percent of the US population had a college degree; today, college grads make up more than 37 percent. I see a lot of advertisements for jobs that require a bachelor’s degree—the ad does, that is—but do not actually require any of the skills learned in that degree. For instance, I’ll see ads that say something like “Bachelor’s in English, journalism, communications, or the life sciences.” Those are pretty different. Which skills would I have learned doing a Bachelor’s in the life sciences that are required to do this job? And would I also have learned those doing a vague-handwave-liberal-arts whatever?
But because more people in the market for office-type jobs have a Bachelor’s degree, more office-type jobs require a Bachelor’s degree. This is credentialization.
I was headhunted by a recruiter one time in the not-too-distant past for a medical writing position, and when I looked at the job description it stated an MD or PharmD was required. I explained to the recruiter that I certainly was not qualified for the job since I have no D and a BA in English and Modern Languages only, which I promise does not include any of the specialized skills you get doing a Medical Doctorate or Doctorate of Pharmacy. The recruiter said: “Oh that’s okay, you don’t really need a doctorate for the job. We just put it in the ad to weed out applicants.”
Credentialization at work.
If you are someone who is interested in becoming a writer or an editor, you may wonder what kind of credentials you need, or that would be nice to have, to launch a professional writing or editing career. The short answer is, you do not need any. The long answer is below. If you were here just for the short answer, it was nice seeing you this morning. I hope you have a pleasant day.
Fiction writers probably, mostly, already know that you don’t need any kind of credential to write a novel. It’s pretty easy to pick up any novel, flip to the about the author page, and see who’s bragging about having an MFA in creative writing—some fiction writers, but not most. Sometimes people have asked me whether I think it’s important to try to get an MFA on their journey to becoming a writer. No, I don’t think it’s important. It’s a worthwhile endeavor for many people but you don’t need an MFA to be a writer. You have to be a writer to get an MFA. The MFA requires tons of writing. You need to have writing samples to submit to get into a program.
What if you want to be a medical writer? Or a technical writer? Or a creative nonfiction (CNF) writer, like a literary journalist? Or a copyeditor, or a copywriter, or a medical editor, or a technical editor, or any combination of any of these things? How do you go about becoming one of those?
In my experience, many people come into these jobs at the entry level with very little experience and perhaps some specific training at the college level and perhaps not, and learn on the job. That’s how I became an editor. That’s how most of my colleagues got into it. Some transitioned career from other fields, some came in fresh from school, and some come in with some volunteer or extracurricular experience, like editing a school paper. It’s totally possible to become a writer or editor by jumping in at the entry level and learning as you go.
But if you’re interested in seeking out career training or earning credentials to set you apart from the crowd of applicants, there are plenty of opportunities. These are also useful for mid-career editors or writers who want to demonstrate a commitment to continuing education or just keep up with the credentialization of the field.
Higher Ed
There’s no one degree that’s best for all types of editing and writing careers. The English degree is a nice all-rounder that includes a lot of reading, a lot of writing, and probably some coursework in grammar and linguistics, which are a big help. Some schools offer a BFA (Bachelor’s of Fine Arts) in creative writing or a BS (Bachelor’s of Science) in technical writing. The other related degrees are BAs in marketing, communication, journalism, or media.
Anyone who is interested in writing or editing in a specific field could benefit from taking courses or doing an undergraduate degree in that field. For instance, someone who wants to write or edit in the life sciences could consider a degree in a life science like biology, agriculture, life science technology, or something like that. Someone who wants to do business writing (for instance, writing proposals) could do a business degree.
There are a handful of schools that offer a professional master’s degree in publishing. The main ones I’m familiar with are:
These degrees are intended to prepare someone who already has a bachelor’s degree (in any subject) for a career in publishing. The professors are mainly career publishing professionals and participation in the program not only offers a degree but can also help students build up a network of publishing connections.
Non-Collegiate Education
There are ways to get some writing, editing, or publishing education outside attending college to get a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
The University of Denver hosts a four-week summer publishing institute that accepts both undergraduate and graduate applicants. NYU offers a similar program. These programs cover many facets of publishing—books, magazines, journals, editorial, production, legal, and so on—during the four weeks they run. Unlike a degree program wherein students choose their specialization and take courses accordingly, these summer programs are like a crash course in all things publishing. I’ve hired and worked with DPI and NYU SPI grads over the years and they’ve all come equipped with a great understanding of the industry and the skills they need to pick up and hone to succeed.
There are also plenty of opportunities for self-directed study through online-learning platforms like EdX, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning. Users can take individual classes or work toward a certificate program. Many of the classes are available to take for free with the option to pay for a certificate of completion.
For instance, the University of California, Berkeley, offers a class in Academic and Business Writing through EdX. This class is self-directed and free for EdX users to take on their own, but for an additional fee ($199 in this case), students will be able to take graded exams and receive a certificate of completion to prove they took and passed the class.
Another example is the University of Michigan’s Good With Words specialization, offered through Coursera, which comprises four courses on writing and editing, resulting in a certificate upon successful completion. Users can also audit the course for free, but will not receive the certificate.
Finally, many professional associations offer courses in their area of expertise, including the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing.
Certifications
If you already have the skills through a mix of education and job experience, you may want to earn a certification to prove you know your stuff. Earning a certification typically requires demonstrating that you meet the criteria and then passing an exam.
For instance, I’m a board-certified editor in the life sciences (ELS) through BELS—look, there I am. In order to earn this certification, I had to first submit proof that I qualify to sit the exam by submitting:
My college transcripts (ancient);
My resume demonstrating at least two years experience editing manuscripts in the life sciences;
Three letters from employers verifying my employment and experience; and
An application fee.
After those were verified by someone at BELS, I was approved to sit the exam. After I passed I got a neat certificate for my office and a pin I can wear on my lapel at conferences. The important part, though, is that having the ELS certification saves others who may want to hire me the effort of verifying my education and experience before they call me in for an interview. The ELS is a shortcut to demonstrating my expertise.
The ELS is great for the life sciences, but that’s not all or most writers or editors. The best course of action is to find the professional organizations that support the work you do—or want to do—and see if they offer a certification. For instance:
Certified Professional Editor through Editors Canada
Certified Professional Technical Communicator through STC
Certified Medical Publication Professional through ISMPP
Medical Writer Certified through the AMWA
If you’re not sure what certification you could earn that would benefit you, go through your LinkedIn network and look at the profiles of people in the job you would like to be in. You can see what credentials they’ve earned, what degrees they hold, to which professional societies they belong, and what job experience they have.
All it really takes to become an editor is a command of the language you want to edit and the ability to pay attention to detail. But a little extra on top of that doesn’t hurt.
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