To STC or not to STC ? That is the question!

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Bruce Byfield reports that since he <<... stopped being involved with the
STC three years ago: - my income has increased 135%, - I'm working with
industry leaders on technology so new that the cutting edge looks primitive
beside it, - I do strategic planning as well as tech writing, - I'm paid to
travel and my wife often comes with me, - on the side, I'm paid to give my
opinion to over 100,000 readers. Now, I'm NOT saying that all this will
happen to everyone who
doesn't renew their STC membership...>>

Ah, but did you get the Charles Atlas muscles and Ginsu steak knives that
_I_ got with my STC membership? <g> The cynic would also ask what you were
earning, what equipment you were using, and what responsibilities you had
while you were a member: 135% of a minimum wage job, entering database info.
in a sweatshop run by a direct-marketing company still using Kaypros isn't
that much to crow about. (Just kidding. <g>)

The value of joining is directly proportional to the work you put into
participating, and inversely proportional to how good you are at networking
and learning and making your way on your own. I get more than my money's
worth simply out of the networking and publishing and learning
opportunities--enough so that I'd join on my own dime if it weren't paid for
by my employer. In particular, since I've enjoyed and profited from the
annual conference every year I've gone, I'd point out that the cost of the
conference for a non-member includes a year's free membership, so it pays to
attend on two levels. Someone equally skilled (Bruce, for instance) and more
dynamic about making his own way in the world obviously might feel
differently and never miss membership.

Would I be able to do as well on my own? In some ways, yes; I'd still be
publishing, for example, and I have non-STC friends who are well plugged
into the writing and editing and translation scenes (techwr-l as a whole,
for instance), so I'd be able to keep networking too. In other ways, no; I'm
a voracious reader of STC stuff because even when specific articles aren't
directly relevant, they broaden my horizons and teach me about new
approaches and angles. I doubt I'd be remotely as up-to-date on research on
things like information design and usability testing if I weren't a member.
A relatively small annual investment gets me past my own natural laziness
and inertia and keeps me moving along in my profession.

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

"I vowed [that] if I complained about things more than three times, I had to
do something about it."--Jon Shear

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