Certification: STC looked at it at least once

[JohnBrin <johnbrin -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

I'm not for nor against certification of technical communicators. I'm too
old and too near retirement for it to matter to me personally.

I suggest those of you who want to advocate certification by STC or some
other body look into past STC activities related to certification and
accreditation. I have lost or misplaced any articles or reports about
STC's look at these issues, so I'll relate what I remember. I hope I get
it mostly right.

An ad hoc committee on certification looked into certification by STC. I
believe it was lead by Andy Malcom. This team got some cost estimates from
one or more outfits in the certification business, and determined that the
cost would be higher than expected. Further, there was concern that STC
might have liability problems, like getting sued by someone who failed to
attain certification.

I believe the committee surveyed several employers to see how they would
value certification and if they would be willing to pay for it. The result
was "not much" and "nope." The committee recommended deferring further
certification activities.

I once had great fun substituting for a member by presenting her pro
certification paper, though I was not in favor of it. This was at an STC
conference in Philadelphia.

I understand why younger technical communicators value certifiction.
Younger people are more numerous in STC these days. Maybe there is a
chance.

John Brinegar
Phoenix, AZ