STC Certification - What Does It Really Mean

Subject: STC Certification - What Does It Really Mean
From: Steven Jong <stevefjong -at- comcast -dot- net>
To: bsherman77 -at- embarqmail -dot- com, TECHWR-L Digest <TECHWR-L -at- LISTS -dot- TECHWR-L -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2011 23:33:37 -0400

William Sherman asked some questions about STC in general and certification that I can answer.

> 1. STC is claiming to be THE body to sanction the skill and quality of a technical writer as the primary organization of writers. However, how many do they represent? I have searched the website and cannot find a membership number. Do they represent 500 of us, 5000 of us, or 50,000 of us? And what percentage of the technical writers and communicators do they actually represent?

I wish you had asked in the days when STC had 20,000 members, but the current number is closer to 5,000 than 50,000. Our own research of the certification market tells us that in North America, Germany, and India alone there are at least 150,000 technical writers and technical communicators. But the other way to answer the question is to say that STC represents more practitioners than any other organization in the world, and it is the only such organization with worldwide scope. Any other organization you can name is both smaller and regionally focused.

> 6. Samples - many of you are walking down a narrow path that can't be good here. ALL of my projects are for the benefit of the company paying and I have always signed non-disclosure agreements. I will not under any circumstance give ANYONE who does not have a need to know (as determined by the client company) any of that information. And I do not take any of that home, so I have no samples. So I can kiss certification goodbye.


This is a groundless fear. We designed the candidate instructions so that you can put together a submission package with no samples from employers.

-- Steve

--
Steven Jong, Chairman
STC Certification Commission
http://www.stc.org/education/certification/certification-main

mailto:SteveFJong -at- comcast -dot- net
mobile:978-413-2553

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead

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