The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is an international professional society for the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication. It has hundreds of local chapters (also known as 'communities.'
#13470
Full-Employment Legislation for Technical Writers 
Most of us view government regulations negatively. Yet they provide a multitude of opportunities for technical writers. What are these opportunities? Where are they? How can you take advantage of them? A chance opportunity knocked on the author's door. Her experience can guide you to find and knock on opportunity's door.
Dean, Carolyn. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>TC>Legislation>Technical Writing
#15072
A list of agencies and organizations that provide funding for research projects in the fields of Technical Communication and HCI. Funding must be applied for before it is granted, and is not always guaranteed.
#26041
The Future of Technical Communication: The Perspective of a Management Consultant 
This commentary summarizes the seven articles in this special issue and also argues that technical communication as a profession is in the midst of a disruption caused by low-cost innovators. Technical communicators can counter this trend by drastically reducing costs and increasing productivity in current operations. But the most valuable strategy is the difficult task of pursuing customer knowledge, which is difficult to replicate by those with little access to customers. Working for the customer and providing them with the information they need to be successful in using products and systems is critical to the future of technical communication.
Hackos, JoAnn T. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Management>TC
#30003
The Future of Technical Documentation 2000-2010
The need for TCs with traditional writing skills will remain fairly stable, but the need for TCs in total will grow. The new technical communicators will come from the world of game design, where they know all about 3D-vector animation, and they will come from the world of TV and video production.
TC-FORUM (2000). Careers>TC>Documentation>Video
#28778
Geoff Sauer on tc.eserver.org, the Largest Tech Comm Index Online
Geoff Sauer is one of the founders of tc.eserver.org--the largest online index for all works related to technical communication. The library indexes works by technical communicators in dozens of categories, and allows users to add new works, rank them, and get RSS feeds of specific titles. There are over 25,000 RSS feeds generated on the site and 15,000 visitors each day.
Sauer, Geoffrey and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>Interviews>TC>Podcasts
#18204
This panel discussion focuses on how finding and getting a job in the ’90s has changed over the past five to ten years. The number of electronic sources of job information is growing rapidly. Major online services such as CompuServe and America On-Line link to these sources, as well as run their own listings. Many sites let you post your resume electronically. New techniques are needed to create electronic resumes.
Sharp, Michael V., Roger E. Masse and Jan D. Shelton. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>TC
#21404
Getting a Technical Writing Job, Even If You Have No Experience 
Technical writing jobs can be hard to get if you have little or no experience. But there are things you can do to improve your chances of getting hired.
#30495
Getting It Together: Creating Procedure Guides for Chapter Officers and Managers
The Rochester Chapter developed a set of Procedure Guides for officers and managers. The project was generated by a need to describe management tasks in order to recruit members for chapter positions, and to aid officers and managers in doing their jobs. This session demonstrates how other chapters can benefit from the Rochester Chapter's experience and develop a set of customized leadership guides.
Doremus, Jean S. and Kathleen B. Aughey. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Management>TC>STC
#14105
Global Talk was printed quarterly through Spring 2002, with a final printed issue in Fall 2002. Earlier issues are in PDF format in the Global Talk archive.
#31885
Going from Word to Wiki: A Few Thoughts
An overview of how one technical communicator moved a Word document to a wiki, and some of the issues involved.
DMN Communications (2008). Articles>TC>Wikis>Microsoft Word
#31796
Going Out On Your Own: It's Not All or Nothing
For some, going freelance seems like an all-or-nothing proposition: you either have to jump in with both feet or not try at all. This blog post argues another way: gradually transition to full-time freelancing.
DMN Communications (2008). Careers>Freelance>TC
#22889
Golden Hits of STC Conferences... A Potpourri of Titillating Technical Communication Tidbits
STC's international conferences offer a golden opportunity for professional growth and development. Taking a leaf from the book of Gordon McKenzie, keynote speaker at the 41st STC Conference in Minneapolis in 1994, the presenter has compiled his material from 16 previous presentations and workshops at regional and international STC conferences, as well as notes from many other technical sessions at those conferences, into a simulated 'HyperCard' stack of 32 topics (i.e., signs on the wall) which session participants can 'browse' simply by 'clicking' (read: shouting out a number).
Voss, Daniel W. and Lori A. Allen. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>TC>History
#19862
A Golden Opportunity-Planning for STC's 50th Anniversary
STC will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2003 and begins a year-long celebration here in Nashville. The STC 50th Anniversary Committee announces its plans, encourages chapters to participate, and asks members to share their ideas with the Committee. The plans include a special 50th anniversary website, an online STC history timeline, and recognition of pioneers. The committee prepared a Chapter Resource Kit, which includes program and speaker suggestions, news release templates, chapter historian guidelines, and chapter recognition recommendations. Members are asked to contribute anecdotes, as well as provide information on chapter pioneers and history resources.
Cantoni, Georgina C., Ernest D. Mazzatenta, William D. Leavitt, Kenneth J. Cook, Elizabeth Babcock and Marguerite Krupp. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>History>TC
#18691
A complete archive of discussion threads from the TECHWR-L mailing list.
#21820
Graphics, Design and Technical Communication: Exploring Disciplinary Boundaries 
How much about graphics and visual design should the courses in our technical communication programs cover? This has become a programmatic issue because technical writing has become more graphically dependent. This is true in many arenas: when designing electronic or print documents suchas brochures, issues such as color theory, perspective, and proportionality come into play along with the rhetoric of the written word. The crossover between the visual and the linguistic is most evident in newmedia, especially in Web design.
LaGrandeur, Kevin. CPTSC Proceedings (2001). Design>Graphic Design>TC
#18201
GRAYSCALE: A Workshop in Ethics and Technical Communication
Increasingly, technical communicators are confronting ethical issues in the workplace. Conflicts arise that appear to defy black-and-white solutions. To render every verdict as “gray,” however, begs the question. This workshop exposes participants to the use of value analysis to clarify ethical conflicts in technical communication. The presenters use a framework of 10 common values, based on the initial work of the STC Ethics Committee, to support objective analysis and resolution of such ethical conflicts. The workshop gives participants the opportunity to explore ethical dilemmas “hands-on” through small-group discussions and a series of role-playing vignettes on selected conflict scenarios.
Allen, Lori A. and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>TC>Ethics
#30252
Growing Your Job as a Technical Communicator: Guidelines for Getting In, Moving Up, and Staying Put
Two seasoned technical communicators discuss the elements of 'growing their jobs,' using successes and lessons learned to offer practical suggestions for getting in, moving up, and staying put if the company downsizes.
Liebetrau, Suzanne F. and Sallie J. Ortiz. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>TC>Planning
#14743
Growth of the Technical Writing Profession
This article, reprinted from the January 1958 issue of the STWE Review (the quarterly journal of the Society of Technical Writers and Editors, one of STC's parent organizations), examines the state of the technical communication profession in the late 1950s.
Rathbone, Robert R. Intercom (2002). Articles>TC>History
#18649
Guerilla WriteFare™: Nice Work If You Can Get it -- Here's How
My experience in the corporate environment has been that larger companies don't go out of their way to hire home-based freelancers. That's not to say that they never do -- it simply hasn't been my experience with them. I run into this problem all the time. Finding off-site work is a challenge. I scour the top 20 or so job search engines and other places for work and, while there really are quite a few contract positions out there, nearly all of them require on-site work. That's the bad news. Here's the good news: I have figured this thing out, believe it or not. In fact, I'm working on a book and a seminar about it. To locate good work that allows you to work out of the home office, you must know three things: How to look. Where to look. Hw to build trusting relationships with your customers.
Knowles, Michael. AIPMM (2003). Careers>Freelance>TC>Case Studies
#31698
A Guide to Careers in Technical Writing
Contrary to what many assume, working as a technical writer involves much more than sitting alone at your PC. The job requires plenty of contact with technical professionals, from programmers and project managers to machine operators and medical technicians. Solitary? Not quite. Collaborative? Most definitely.
Hoffman, Allan. Monster.com (2007). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing
#14134
Guidelines for Technical Edits
The purpose of the technical edit is to ensure that all materials produced by the Documentation department are as complete and technically accurate as possible. Each document will also pass through a peer edit by a member of the Documentation department after the technical edit is complete, so as a technical editor you do not need to be concerned with issues of style and grammar. Your main focus should be on the technical accuracy of the document. The first step, of course, is simply to check the document for any errors. We need to make sure w have correctly described each feature of the software, as well as the overall design and purpose of the forms and systems we are discussing. Beyond checking for errors, however, we want the documentation we produce to be as helpful to the user as possible. For the purposes of the technical edit, this means not only checking for inaccuracies, but asking whether the document has all the information that is necessary to use the software successfully.
#23502
Guidelines for Technical Writing
The rules here apply to all classes in the Chemical Engineering Department at Ohio University. Most of them will apply in 'the real world', too, although your employer may have some specific format requirements.
Young, V.L. and K.J. Sampson. Ohio University. Reference>Style Guides>TC>Technical Writing
#20778
Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness
Welcome to my Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness. On this page, I list wacky, bizarre, surreal and otherwise strange examples of technical documentation, particularly illustration.
DarrenBarefoot (2003). Humor>TC>Technical Illustration>Localization
#20334
Handling Ethical Dilemmas on the Job
Experts in ethics will suggest approaches to ethical dilemmas in the field of technical communication and on the job with the 'Ten (+/-) Commandments of Ethics.'
Epp, Barbara E., Shirley A. Hancock, Jeffrey L. Hibbard, Connie Kiernan, Lawrence D. Kunz and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Ethics
#18998
Happiness is A Good Fit: Personality Typing Tools for Career Management
Members of our profession have tended to manage their careers by choosing either technical or management paths, then following them. Increasingly, technical communicators are factoring their personality types into the equation. This paper examines how standardized personality typing tools used by career planners are applied to help team members to find a good job fit, build a highfunctioning team, salvage interpersonal conflicts in the workplace, and make a suitable career change.
Bailie, Rahel Anne, Liz Babcock, Conni E. Evans and Emma C. Hamer. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Management>TC
