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Subject:STC Salary Survey (Was "Would you be angry?") From:"Larry Kunz ((919) 254-6395)" <ldkunz -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 24 Aug 1995 18:40:00 EDT
Within a longer post on 22 Aug 1995 , Gwen Barnes wrote:
> Think about what the STC survey is attempting to "prove" -- that
> techwriters are intrinsically "worth" a certain salary based on STC
> criteria of age, education, experience, industry and location. If the
> survey suggested that most tech writers are overpaid, who would continue
> to support it? Where is the STC getting their data for this survey?
> Probably not from the employers. Undoubtedly not from the IRS.
Without wishing to detract from the really good stuff I've seen in
the "Would you be angry?" thread, I'll note in passing that the
STC Salary Survey isn't attempting to prove anything. It's provided
by the Society Office simply as a resource for those of us who toil
in the profession.
The data is gathered from a random sampling of STC members. As
others have pointed out, the sample is thus somewhat self-selecting
(not every member is asked to respond, but those who are asked can
opt out) and the data might not be exactly 100% factual. But, hey,
c'mon -- have you ever known a technical communicator to prevaricate? :-)
Larry Kunz
STC Assistant to the President for Professional Development
ldkunz -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com