My STC Membership: It's All Down to Cost

Sadly, this is the last year I will be an Society for Technical Communication (STC) member after more than 15 years. This was a really tough decision for me to make, highly emotional. Because it was emotional I realized my continuing annual renewal was coming from a place of sentimentality and it was time to question the basics.

For me personally STC was of great benefit when I was living in Chicago and growing as a technical writer. Somewhere along the way having an STC membership became less of a relevant issue when finding work. I was no longer asked if I was a member when interviewing and being the Chicago chapter's membership manager burned me out as a volunteer. When I relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area I needed some personal time for health issues and to find my next career move. (Side note: my move was in 2003 during the telecom recession and I couldn't find work with benefits in Chicago.)

By the time health issues were dealt with and I had gainful employment again, a few years had passed. I attended a couple of STC meetings here and there. The Lone Star chapter is a great chapter with friendly people, but I presentations covered things I already knew from reading or previous conferences and chapter meetings in Chicago.

Now I'm not claiming I know everything. I'm actually kind of a generalist. However, my career has evolved to such a point that technical writing was a skill I used to help me perform other functions not covered by the STC umbrella. I am doing user-experience (UX) projects. This realization and introduction to the UX community was my career's second wind.

2009 was a tough year on STC. I know none of the decisions made by the STC leadership to save the organization has been easy. I also criticized STC's value overall. Sarah O'Keefe's "A Mercenary View of STC" is a great article defending the decision to remain in STC in spite of current issues. But I'm not an independent consultant anymore and her reasons don't apply to my situation.

The "value" I want is local interaction and to learn UX. The UX community in D/FW is fantastic and I have so much to learn. You probably know the 2010 STC Conference is in Dallas. I wanted to get back out and start speaking again, like my good-old Chicago days. So I submitted two proposals and told myself if I can speak at the conference and have the cost of the conference covered, I'll give STC the chance in 2010.

As it turns out my proposals were not accepted. Looking at the cost of the conference and the dues increase, I can't justify membership any longer. The Big Design Conference in 2010 is where I will volunteer and focus my attention as I get to know more people in the D/FW creative community. For me, it's about going in a new direction and redirecting career growth funds toward a place where I can get more in return for my investment.

My tiny pool of disposable income won't get any bigger this year and I've already raided my kids' piggy banks. So to STC I want to say thanks for years of helping me learn. I hope the organization survives 2010 better and stronger. I also hope the conference in Dallas is one of the best in the country for 2010. If somehow I can swing registration through some sort of cash windfall I will be there.

To other STC members, thanks for your friendships over the years. I will continue to be involved in the technical writing community but I will also be increasing my network to related fields who are doing the work I love so much. Let's all learn from each other.