Who Are Our Members?

Composed of both English mother tongue and French native speakers, our members work in a variety of industries for global and local companies in France and in neighbouring European countries. A number of members are based much further afield including Canada, India, USA, Nigeria, Latvia and more.

We are dedicated to raising awareness of our profession as individuals and as a community, and reaching out to the wider community of communication. We are seeking to expand the opportunities for interaction with our members to encourage discussion and ideas that we can share for the benefit of us all. We work closely and frequently with fellow European communities for cross-border events, such as regional STC conferences and the Trans European Technical Communication Competition.

STC members are active in all aspects of technical communication, including:

• authors
• editors
• project leaders
• documentation managers
• information architects
• graphic artists
• web designers
• indexers
• usability and visualisation experts
• translators

Commercial businesses related to technical communication include:

• developers of industry-related tools
• specialist recruitment agencies

Members of related fields include:

• public relations communicators
• journalists
• project management professionals
• anyone who needs to produce good, comprehensive communication

Our members are employed in the following industries and fields:

• aerospace
• computing
• telecommunications
• internet
• finance
• banking
• household appliances, stereos, video recorders
• electronics
• publishing companies
• medical or scientific
• petroleum

Profile of a technical communicator

Technical communicators:

• are competent in written communication and have an aptitude for oral communication, including interviewing techniques
• know how to put themselves in the place of the user
• have a technical background that enables them to converse with product developers and other subject matter experts
• manage documentation projects and know how to plan and quantify human and material resources, and to establish deadlines and cost estimates
• have an international outlook that enables them to write documents that can easily be translated into other languages: clear and concise, free from technical jargon and cultural references
• hold a post-secondary university or college diploma

What do technical communicators do?

Technical communicators produce the following types of documents for any type of audience, from the non-technical to highly technical:

• descriptive or task-oriented documentation required to use a product (user guides and "how-to" manuals, installation guides, maintenance manuals, product guides, etc.)
• training-related documentation, such as course outlines, training manuals and other
• supporting courseware
• internal documents such as documentation plans and project plans
• internet documents
• web pages and web content
• content and structure of CD-ROMs
• online help systems
• technical marketing and marketing communications publications including brochures, product briefs, white papers and sales guides
• annual reports

Career development possibilities:

• Technical communicators generally hold positions as technical writers, project leaders, information architects, documentation managers, interface designers, web page designers, marketing communications specialists or managers.
• Technical communication is particularly well-suited to independent workers.
• Salaries based on the 2003 France Chapter Salary Survey: The average salary of respondents was 41,596 Euros per year. This figure represents a slight decrease since the last survey in 2001. This is partly due to the greater proportion of entry level and younger respondents to this year's survey compared with 2001.
• Entry level positions averaged 29,844 Euros per year and mid level non-management 39,467 Euros per year.
• The average salary for midlevel management positions is now 44,017 Euros per year. The median rate charged by contractors is 60 Euros per hour, which represents a significant increase since the last survey (although this figure is based on a very limited sample size.