You get what you pay for (Score 2, Interesting)

Has anyone who holds a tech position and who can write well ever been hired because of that ability, or gotten a better starting salary because of it? I haven't. I write like Samuel Johnson as restrained by Strunk and White. I do not misspell or make punctuation errors. Compound-complex sentences and the subjunctive hold no terrors for me. This has all been useful to me in my work in various ways but I have never been specifically rewarded for it, as I have for being a long-term *nix admin, or having an MCSE, or being able to run a Fluke meter. If companies are distraught because their staff is illiterate let them pay a premium for literate new hires, or quit pissing and moaning. If the day ever comes when teachers can say "Kids, if you pay attention in English class your starting salary at Oracle goes up $5000," that might have some effect.