Certification: The Long and Winding Road

Clearly, our path to certification has been neither fast nor steady. We've spent decades starting from first principles, and trying to construct the argument that we want to be certified. We put effort into trying to decide how to administer certification exams, which was never a good make-vs-buy decision. Our attempts to define a body of knowledge splintered into groups that were unique to certain industries, media, or tools, such as medical writers, Web designers, and FrameMaker experts. Certification was--and still is--an emotionally charged issue; people have felt their livelihoods were threatened.

Jong, Steven F., Nad Rosenberg and Daniel Wise. STC Proceedings (2008). Articles>Certification>Professionalism>Body of Knowledge

Why Certification by the STC Won’t Work

The virtues of certification cannot be ignored, but they are outweighed by the drawbacks: There’s no evidence that employers will value certification; it can be highly subjective; and it requires ongoing renewal, even for experienced practitioners, to avoid diluting its value. The more important task must be to demonstrate our value to employers. Only once they understand our value will certification provide a means to assure employers that they can expect to receive that value.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2008). Articles>Certification>TC>Professionalism

Certification - Why We Need to Begin   

I believe certification of technical communicators is unavoidable, given the current status of related professions and our technological environment. Either the STC develops a certification program, or someone else will do it.

Rosenberg, Nad. Intercom (2008). Articles>Certification>TC>Professionalism