Overview of the Certified Professional Technical Communicator credential offered by the STC Certification Commission. Presentation by Steven Jong, Chairman of the Commission, at the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Summit, Rosemont IL, 22 May 2012.

1. What is Certification?
STC Summit, Rosemont, IL
May 2012
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2. Session Agenda
✤ Who is eligible for CPTC™
certification—and who should apply?
✤ Why is certification right for you?
✤ What is the process?
✤ When will you get your results?
✤ How will it matter—to you, to
employers, and to the profession?
✤ Where do you get more information
and get started?
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3. STC Certification
Commission
✤ Incorporated in 2011, in Virginia, as a
501(c)(6) organization
✤ Independent of STC
✤ Responsible for establishing certification
policies, granting CPTC™ certifications,
and overseeing day-to-day operations
✤ Bylaws, policies, procedures, finances
separate from STC
✤ One “member”—STC
✤ Seven commissioners, serving two-year
terms
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http://www.amrms.com/content/501c3-or-501c6-–-what’s-difference
501(c)(3): Operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, literary, or scientific purposes
501(c)(6): Operated to promote a common business interest, and to improve business conditions in the industry
501(c)(3): Includes membership associations (e.g., professional society), if the purpose is to advance the profession with respect to "educational"
activities
501(c)(6): A membership organization (e.g., business league, industry trade association), advancing a common business interest

4. Certification is Here!
2008: Benchmarking 2010: STC Board 2012: Charter
report on professions approved program members
2009: “Summit@Summit” 2011: Beta testing
gathered certification
drivers (reasons)
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I used a runner image in 2010, which I’ve kept
These are the major milestones from the last five years
We’re just getting started, so the runner continues

5. Are You Eligible?
✤ All practitioners who meet
eligibility requirements can Experience... Plus Education
apply
✤ STC membership is not High-school diploma
required 5 years
or equivalent
✤ Prerequisites: combination
of full-time experience and
education 4 years Degree in related field
✤ Must agree to abide by Code
of Conduct Degree in specified
3 years
field
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Who can apply? We set up the requirements so that a lot of practitioners are eligible
STC membership is not required, although we charge less for STC members; and certification is not required to be an STC member, so nothing has
changed
A combination, or sliding scale, of experience and education:
Think of the base requirement as five years or about 10,000 hours of work experience, which is comparable with requirements for PMP
Bachelor’s degree in related field (such as English, Computer Science, or Journalism) plus four years of experience
Bachelor’s degree in specified field (such as Technical Communication, Information Design, or Science Journalism) plus three years of experience
Finally, you must agree to abide by the Code of Conduct, which is more specific than the STC Code of Ethics and lists prohibited behavior

6. Profile of an
Applicant
✤ Bachelor’s degree
✤ Already has 3–5 years of
experience in field
✤ Documents products and
services sold in North America
✤ May be an STC member
✤ Committed to a long-term career
including work in technical
communication
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Who should apply? Here’s the target demographic.
The target audience is mid-career professionals. We are targeting practitioners, not just STC members.
You can be a captive employee, a contractor, or a lone writer.

7. The Process
You send application You send submission Commission evaluates
and payment packet and payment packet
Eligibility verified Completeness verified Trained evaluators assess
individual sections under
non-disclosure
Commission returns CPTC™ granted for
evaluation three years
Results within 60 days Continue training and
professional development
with annual maintenance fee
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How do you get the certification?
The candidate instructions are available on our website, and you can (and should!) download and study them first. It’s an open-book exam.
Here’s the process, from application to renewal. Notice that the application and the submission packet are two separate steps.
Or... If at first you don’t succeed, resubmit section(s) and payment

8. Assessing Areas of Practice
1. Project Planning Competencies
1. User, Task, Experience
Analysis
2. Project Analysis Competencies
2. Information Design
3. Solution Design Competencies
3. Process
4. Organizational Design Competencies
Management
5. Written Communication
4. Information
Competencies
Development
6. Visual Communication Competencies
5. Information
Production
Areas of Practice Submission
7. Content Development Competencies
Packet
8. Content Management Competencies
9. Final Production Competencies
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What are we looking for? The certification assesses competencies, which are your knowledge, skills, and abilities. These competencies are
gathered into five broad, uniform areas of practice where technical communicators provide unique value.
To assess competencies, we look at a submission packet with nine sections. The submission packet consists of nine sections, including artifacts,
commentaries, and scenarios. Why five areas to nine sections? Think of it as drilling down, or emphasizing, information development (writing,
illustration, and editing). Three sections are must-pass, and you have to get a minimum passing score on the nine sections taken together.

9. Evaluation
✤ Your packet is received and
administratively screened by the
Certification Commission
✤ Double-blind assessment by trained
evaluators under nondisclosure
✤ Evaluated section by section
✤ You must pass Sections 5, 6, and 7
(writing, graphics, and editing) and
achieve an overall passing score
✤ Results returned within 60 days
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10. Fee Structure
Fee (USD,
STC Member Non-Member
nonrefundable)
Application $99 $125
Evaluation $595 $695
Resubmission
$100 per section $100 per section
(if necessary)
Maintenance $49 annually $69 annually
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11. Preparing Your
Packet
✤ Read and follow all the directions on
the candidate instructions
✤ Treat each section separately
✤ Don’t skip anything
✤ Choose your sample(s) wisely
✤ Observe all page lengths
✤ Proofread carefully
✤ Submit only PDF files (we do not
accept other formats)
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Here I insult your intelligence, but I have a reason to list each of these
V1.0 of the Candidate Instructions list page limits as suggestions; they will soon become requirements
V1.0 of the Candidate Instructions imply formats other than PDF are acceptable; PDF will soon become the only acceptable format
For more details, go to Rob’s session on Wednesday

12. The Value to Practitioners
Certification is an objective, !
portable, personal credential
!
that is associated with higher
salaries, job-hunting
advantages, and better job
opportunities
!
!
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There has to be a reason why so many people in so many professions pay good money to get certified. Here’s the value proposition.
A résumé puts you in your best light, but everyone knows it’s not objective. A reference isn’t objective either, and it speaks to you in only one role.
Certification is an objective, third-party assurance that you can do the job. And it’s yours, not your employer’s; it goes with you from job to job
and field to field because it’s a general certification.
People entering the workforce today can expect to change jobs six times in their working lives. The average job attracts anywhere from 200 to
1,000 résumés, and consequently the average résumé gets only six seconds of HR attention. What can you put on yours that will catch the eye? HR
people say it’s a certification mark! And at the other end of the process, when a hiring manager has to choose between you and two or three other
equally qualified candidates, what is the tiebreaker? HR experts say it’s certification again.
Certification shows not just what you do, but what you can do. It opens the door for professional advancement, and gives you the confidence to
step through it.
Our studies of other professions shows that certified professionals make more money than their uncertified colleagues. I can name you
certifications that boost salaries in certain professions 10%, 20%, 30%, and more. But I don’t want to oversell the benefit. A comprehensive study
last year by Foote Partners of 225 certifications showed an average salary increase of 7.3%. Imagine making that much more in salary, not just as a
one-time bonus, but year after year, compounded, for the rest of your career. Those fees start to look like a bargain! And they are.

13. The Value to
Employers
✤ Certificants are more cost-effective
to find, train, and keep—and so
are worth paying a premium for
✤ Certification objectively assures
that certificants can handle
complex projects from planning
through completion—so they
reduce the risk of problems
✤ Certificants voluntarily dedicate
and commit to their profession—
something employers like
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There also has to be a reason why employers would pay more for a certified professional. How is that possible? This is how.
In general, employers find that certified professionals are more likely to be successful, valued employees.

14. The Value to
the Profession
Certification is one of the three
attributes of a profession:
1. Body of knowledge
2. Code of ethics
3. Certification
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In 2007, STC commissioned Rick O'Sullivan for a study of professions. The result was "What Makes a Profession Professional?" (2008). Was technical
communication a profession at the time? He said no. “You can be; you should be; but you aren’t yet.” This is what STC did. In effect, STC created the
profession, and certification completed the picture.

15. Maintaining Your
Certification
✤ Your CPTC™ certification is valid for
three years
✤ To maintain your certification:
✤ Annual maintenance fee
✤ Ongoing professional development
✤ Stay active in the field
✤ Renewable without retest,
resubmission packet, or
recertification fee
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The certification isn’t a lifetime grant; it would be worthless if it were. We chose a typical period of three years.
Continuing education is important, and the certification maintenance process encourages it.
You don’t have to attend STC events—any professional society (such as IEEE or ASI) will do.
Remaining active in your chapter or SIG counts as professional activity. Chapter leaders: the more certified practitioners in your chapter, the more
they’ll have reason to attend your chapter events and workshops.

16. Certification
and Your Career
✤ Certification is an important milestone in your
career journey
✤ Like career paths, the path to certification varies
among individuals
✤ Most practitioners are qualified to apply for
CPTC™ certification
✤ Some employers will pay; some practitioners
will invest in themselves
✤ Initially, certification is for generalists
✤ Initially, certification is in English and based on
US market standards
✤ CPTC™ certification will take time to take root
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Not everyone qualifies, and not everyone will pass. This is a feature, not a bug.
Certification is not a guarantee of personal success.
It’s been suggested that this is a money-making scheme, and that everyone who applies passes. That is not true.

17. Certification is
Transformational
✤ For practitioners: More money,
respect, recognition, and
opportunity; breaks the
downward rate spiral
✤ For employers: An objective way
to discern value; less risk
✤ For the profession: Makes the
profession professional; raises
the bar of practice
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How does certification matter? I truly believe certification is transformational
Project managers were in a commodity spiral 25 years ago, and began certification to break it
Maintenance raises the bar of practice; we can refurbish or add new requirements as circumstances warrant

18. Where Do I
Sign Up—?
✤ To get started on your CPTC™
certification: www.stccert.org
✤ Information at the Summit:
“How do I Become Certified?”
Rob Hanna, Wednesday 11:30–
12:30 pm
✤ More questions? Email
cert@stc.org (or me at
stevefjong@comcast.net)
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Today is just an overview; for more information, go to Rob’s session