Comments on: A mercenary view of STC

By: Carol W.

Carol W. — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:13:56 +0000

Hi Sarah!
Your message is very succinct.
Would you give permission for the STC Twin Cities chapter to place it (or parts of it) on their website?

Best regards,
Carol
STC-TC Membership Manager

By: Sarah O'Keefe

Sarah O'Keefe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:58:45 +0000

@N. Heitz: I am sorry to hear about your employment situation. And yes, that is obviously a case where the dues present a truly formidable barrier.

@Jeanette: This is an important point. There’s a lot of “what does my $$$ get me?” But STC is actually a charity and not a trade association. Worth keeping in mind…

By: Jeanette Bottitta

Jeanette Bottitta — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:15:51 +0000

It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that STC is a member-driven professional association, and not some agency that provides services in return for our annual payment. Like other associations, the benefit you derive is directly proportional to your investment of time and energy. STC provides opportunities to lecture, teach, research, be published, judge documentation, have your documentation judge, network, become certified, and more. Sarah reaps a great deal because she sows a great deal. This is not so much mercenary as it is good business…and we all benefit from her work. Of course, if you don’t have the money, then you don’t have the money.

By: N. Heitz

N. Heitz — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:23:14 +0000

I understand what you’re saying. However, it’s hard to come up with $215 when you’ve only worked for 3 months out of the last 2 years. Your advice is worth acting on when I get back on the roles of the gainfully employed.

By: Sarah O'Keefe

Sarah O'Keefe — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:16:49 +0000

Hi Denise,

Yes, feel free to link to it.

Sarah

By: Denise Kadilak

Denise Kadilak — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:09:34 +0000

Hi Sarah,
Great article. I’ve been a little cranky about the increase, and your article provides a great counter to my attitude. Would you mind if we provided a link to it in Nov. issue of the Northeast Ohio chapter Newsletter.
Thanks,
Denise

By: Sridhar Machani

Sridhar Machani — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:02:50 +0000

Thanks Sarah, for the great post. I’ve read tons of views and comments on this topic. I’m fighting the same battle as Anindita in trying to convince myself to renew my STC membership.
I thought about commenting my views here, but realized it was huge when I completed it. So, here’s my take on the topic on my blog at http://coffeebreaklabs.com/sri/index.php/2009/10/29/what-i-expect-from-stc/.

By: John Hedtke

John Hedtke — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:52:13 +0000

I just wrote an article about the value of the STC and why I make oodles of money by being an STC member. (I’m hoping to break the $1M mark next year; that’s an official “oodle.”) You’re welcome to download it at http://www.hedtke.com/downloads/Of_Course!.pdf

Yours truly,

John Hedtke
541-554-2189 cell
541-685-5000 landline

By: Vishnu

Vishnu — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:46:49 +0000

“…I wanted them to educate local companies and governments about our profession so they’d understand and accept the benefits we provide and the professionalism we have…” Well said, Ellen. I totally agree with you.

“…The feelings about tech writers seems to be that anyone can do it…”
This is the reality. Many think that technical writing is a copy and paste job and it is an inferior job compared to coding and testing. The amount of focus or visibility a developer or tester gets is much much higher than a technical writer gets.

What can STC do to change this perception, not just in the US, but also in countries like India?

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:51:52 +0000

I will most likely not renew my STC membership in 2010. I get little benefit from the group.

I have never gotten a job because I was in the STC. I haven’t attended many yearly conferences because of the costs. I don’t read “Intercom” because the articles aren’t interesting to me. I used to attend my local meetings. However, they became the same thing month after month and year after year. When the local meetings did include people from local work places and education, they never represented the majority of people and companies in my area.

For many years, I wanted to see the STC, both at the national and local levels, promote technical writing, editing, and so on. I wanted them to educate local companies and governments about our profession so they’d understand and accept the benefits we provide and the professionalism we have. I have not seen that at all. The feelings about tech writers seems to be that anyone can do it and the salaries here have basically stayed the same for 5+ years.

The only real benefit I get are from the two SIGs to which I belong. I learn a lot from these people and will miss them tremendously.

Regards,
Ellen