At the third Vancouver Island Tech Comm Café, six attendees enjoyed Thai food at the Tropical Island restaurant. Highly recommended: their Singapore noodles with shrimp or a curry!
After introductions, Serena Beck, who organized the get-together, announced the new volunteer position of Vancouver Island Coordinator. She also let everyone know about the Contractor’s Directory on the STC Canada West Coast website. It’s included with chapter membership for STC Canada West Coast members and is a good place for contractors to publicize their business.
Next, we discussed pros and cons of obtaining a Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC) certification. It’s expensive but might be a cost that your current employer would consider incurring. We questioned whether CPTC is something that employers are requiring. No-one has seen certification listed on a job posting yet. However, it looks great on your résumé and is a way to validate your skills as a technical communicator. The requirements have changed, as the program was recently revised to include 3 tiers: Foundation, Practitioner, and Expert. One of the tech writers at our meeting has already obtained her CPTC and it helped her receive a promotion at work.
The CPTC is similar to a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. Every two years, you need to show that you have obtained the required number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to maintain your certification. These points can be granted by taking university courses or STC courses, or by attending the STC annual Summit. Your STC membership also counts towards your points. A lot of these events or courses are also pricey, but employers might be willing to cover the cost.
Next, we discussed how some companies don’t know what they need, or don’t even realize that they could use a technical writer. We talked about the value of working where you are appreciated. We speculated whether most tech writer jobs on the Island are entry level because companies can’t afford more experienced writers. However, we all agreed that tech writing is a sustainable field, that we need to have research, instructional design, software tools, and many other skills besides just writing, and that certification may one day become a requirement.
The TCC provides networking opportunities, job leads, answers to work-related dilemmas, and a burst of professional energy to keep you motivated. We discuss technical writing tools and techniques, career planning, portfolios, and anything else related to working as a technical communicator.
We welcome anyone who’s interested in technical communication — contractor, in-house, student, long-time tech writer, STC member, non-member, career-changer, or recruiter. We hope to see you at the next meeting! Check stcwestcoast.ca for details. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to admin (at) stcwestcoast.ca.
Serena Beck has been a technical writer for 13 years and currently writes about blood and plasma hardware and software. She is the past president of the STC Canada West Coast chapter.