About Our Community

Welcome to the website of STC Alberta, a geographic community of the Society for Technical Communication. Our mission is to further the profession of technical communication through awareness and professional development.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) is a worldwide professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication in all its facets. STC is designed to serve those professionals in the field of technical communication, most commonly including writers, editors, documentation experts, translators, multimedia artists, managers and supervisors, educators, independent consultants and contractors, graphic designers, online Help developers, and website designers.

There are currently almost 11,000 members worldwide; Canada has a membership of almost 1,100. The Head Office for STC is in Fairfax, Virginia, and manages membership registration.  The global organization is active through many individual "Communities." These communities are comprised of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and geographic Chapters; currently there are more than 150 Chapters worldwide, with 7 chapters in Canada. This site is built and maintained by STC Alberta chapter, representing technical communicators within Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

What are the benefits of joining the STC?

• Ready-made Network of Peers—Members get plenty of opportunities throughout the year to network with other members in both casual and formal events. From social events such as pub nights, to training sessions such as program nights, the chance to bounce ideas off one another, learn about job opportunities, and hear about project shortcuts, new software or tools is especially valuable.
• Exclusive Access to Jobs Database—Only members are able to see the job listings posted by employers through STC Alberta's Jobline. Members also receive e-mail notification when a new job is posted. In addition to the local Jobline, hundreds of job listings are also available on the main STC website's Career Center where online listings are searchable by geographic area and salary range.
• Chapter Membership—In addition to the local Jobline, members are connected to peers at the local Chapter meetings, seminars, and social events. Members also get access to Affiliate events at discounted rates. In addition, STC Alberta has two mailing lists that all members are subscribed to and we publish a monthly newsletter.
• SIG Membership—STC has 22 special interest groups organized by type of work performed and the classification of employment. Membership in one SIG is included with dues, however many members choose more than one SIG for a small additional charge. List of SIGs
• Chapter Newsletter and Subscription to STC Publications—Members receive the Chapter's monthly electronic newsletter, SuperScript which has articles from local members, a message from the president, and information on upcoming events. In addition to the Chapter newsletter, there are also subscriptions to STC’s monthly magazine, quarterly journal, and electronic newsletter to keep abreast of Society activities. Intercom offers a broad range of articles for the professional. Topics cover writing and editing, tips for consultants, tools of the trade, new products, and unusual job profiles. Technical Communication is a peer-reviewed journal with papers based on research findings advancing the Body of Knowledge. STC Notebook, the global weekly electronic newsletter, offers bite-sized updates on what’s happening within STC, as well as industry news.
• Continuing Education—STC Alberta offers monthly program nights on various industry topics and an annual high profile day-long seminar presented by a recognized leader in our industry. STC also develops targeted 90-minute, single-topic seminars where participants listen to the presenter over the phone while viewing presentation materials via the Website. Members get better pricing and are offered early bird registration rates to attend the Technical Communication Summit (often saving as much as $300 to $500 over non-members). STC gives members preferred pricing on all products.
• Salary Survey—STC Alberta conducts an annual salary survey collecting and publishing geographically relevant salary information for employees and contractors. The global STC Salary Database is also available to members and is based on the latest information from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics survey of technical writers among 1.25 million US business establishments.Canada will soon have its own salary survey measuring the salaries of Canadian STC members across the various sectors that we work in.
• Exclusive Discounts on Products—Vendors, such as MadCap Software and ComponentOne, are among the corporations that offer discounts on products only to STC members. Discounts are typically 10 to 15 percent. The savings for members taking advantage of the discounts can be hundreds of dollars, much more than the cost of STC dues.
• Access to Best Practices Research—STC members receive a one-year complimentary access (a $995 value) to more than 5,500 research documents in Best-in-Class enterprises with hundreds of benchmark and best practices reports in areas such as: business value research analysis, research briefs, market perspectives, and key performance indicators. STC has partnered with Aberdeen Group, a leading, fact-based, market research firm, to bring you exclusive access to the latest Aberdeen analysis, market-moving news, and vertical insights.
• An STC membership looks great on your resume and your involvement contributes to the development of our profession.

Student Memberships

To be eligible for student membership, an applicant must be:

• enrolled in an accredited university, college, community college, or technical school;
• be considered a full-time student according to the criteria of the school he or she is attending; and
• preparing for a career in technical communication.

In addition to all the benefits of being a member, there are additional benefits for student members:

• International and Local Scholarships
• Monetary funding
• Community Involvement
• Access to resources
• Volunteer opportunities
• Recognition within the technical communicator community

Friends of STC

We're enhancing our reach to professions related to technical communication by forming affiliations with other professional associations. Through our affiliations, STC Alberta Members can attend third-party events at member rates. We are currently affiliated with Digital Alberta, with more affiliations to come soon.

Joining STC

Go to the STC Head Office website. Joining STC is easy and it's the best decision you'll make to enhance your career.