Who Are We? 2005 Phoenix Chapter Survey Highlights

By Kathy Graden, Managing Editor

Text Box: If you've ever wondered what the profile of a typical STC Phoenix Chapter member looks like, this is it:

The typical chapter member is female, at least 35 years old.
She has at least a Bachelor's degree.
She earns about $68,053 (if salaried) or $43 per hour (if she's a contractor or consultant).
She works in the commercial sector.
She's satisfied with the technical communication profession.

Maura Betler, who for the past few years has conducted the chapter's annual membership survey and compiled and reported on the results, derived the typical member profile from the results of our 2005 survey. (For complete survey results, visit http://stc-phoenix.com/Survey_results05.pdf.)

Some of the data Maura has collected this year may surprise you. For example, the survey reports that for the first time in 4 years, local women's salaries topped men's, averaging $69,541 versus $68,121. Except for entry-level compensation, overall salaries increased over last year. People holding mid-level, non-supervisory positions gained the most (40 percent), their average salary jumping from $43,608 in 2004 to $73,656 in 2005.

One of the biggest eye-openers in the survey results is the disparity between the skill areas we want to develop and the skills our employers want us to acquire:

Skills We Want	Skills Employers Want from Us
1. eLearning design/development	1. Single-source theory/practice
2. Usability and human factors	2. Process improvement
3. Web design, development, & publishing	3. Conflict Resolution
4. Information design	4. eLearning design/development
5. Single-source theory/practice	5. Information design
6. Graphics and visual design	6. Management skills
7. Process improvement	7. Technical editing
8. Technical editing	8. Usability and human factors
9. Management (general and documentation-specific) skills	9. Web design/publishing
10. (tie) Indexing and specific tools	10. (tie) Technical writing skills and minimalist writing approaches

I encourage you to read Maura's report on the full survey results. It's interesting reading, and and valuable information if you're seeking employment or a raise in your current salary.

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