RE: Tech writer and degrees
Elwyn, you have an interesting point of view, but I think the market may be different in your geographic area than in some others, or perhaps in the specific field you are in. I know a few in medical technical writing that do have an advanced degree.
But I also know a lot of technical writers in the computer/software industries, and have interviewed and hired plenty, but few have advanced degrees. A few are engineers. I'm not and never had the inclination to become one, although it can certainly help. I was a tech writer for years, then a project lead, then a manager. Currently I'm an editor, and work with companies on a freelance basis as a technical editor, among other types of editing. While the writers that I work with are great at understanding technology, and working with software developers to get the information they need to create the documentation, few have advanced degrees. But they are usually very intelligent.
So it really varies. Most tech writers in Silicon Valley do not have an advanced degree.
I do know people who had a degree in something (psychology, for example) who decided they wanted to become a technical writer and went to a school that offered a certificate in tech writing, but that's different than an advanced degree.