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Archiver > APG > 1998-09 > 0906525644


From: <>
Subject: Re: Credentials
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 00:40:44 EDT


First, thanks to Brian for setting up the mail list. I hope I have time to
follow all the posts. I speak as someone who has not given up his day job for
full time genealogical research, but who takes clients as time allows. I also
speak as someone with no genealogical certification. My clients hire me
primarily because of language needs, namely Slavic and other East European
languages. I do have a PhD in that area, which always helps. That gets my
foot in the door, as does certification or accreditation. But I have to
produce, as do we all.

So it seems to me that whether to go through some formal process, and which
process to go through, depends on individual goals: Do you want to be a full-
time researcher? Is occasional or part-time research preferable? Would you
rather focus on translation? Or compiling genealogies?

A few years ago when I began considering taking clients (actually, when my
wife asked "Are you doing that for *free*?"), I asked an old Army friend, now
an FASG, and his advice was that, for my purposes, I didn't need
certification, but I should join APG. I have taken that advice, and don't
regret it.

Gordon McDaniel

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