Message #1527

[execsec]

Wow, this is interesting!  A long, long time ago, from what I understand (and this is why I didn't take the CPS exam back in 1979) part of the exam covered typing and shorthand! I took shorthand in college, used it for one year, and never used it again.  I was scared, what if I couldn't remember some of my brief forms, what if I couldn't read my OWN SHORTHAND!!!  I had also heard that you had to bring your own typewriter to the test.  I didn't have a typewriter and where was I going to get one?  I held off taking the test until 1990.  By then they had dropped the shorthand and typing part of the test.  But the recertify thing had come into place. For those of you who don't know, anyone taking the CPS test after 1988 has to recertify, all those before were grandfathered in and don't have to recertify but probably should anyway.



Plus I was told by someone along the way that if you have your CPS designation you should REFUSE to take a typing test at job interviews.  The CPS designation means you have gone way beyond that part of the job and it's understood that you have those skills covered quite well.  I mean, they don't ask an engineer in an interview to pull out his slide rule do they?  Do they ask a CPA to get out their calculator and add numbers?  Heck no......



But back to the original question, the CPS/CAP test has evolved over the years just like our job descriptions have.  Some of us no longer have to type as much as we used to (on manuals with carbon paper no less) and are doing more administrative work (sitting in meetings instead of and for our bosses) etc.