STC Washington DC Chapter Why Should You Join STCWDC?

Sign up now! Become a dues-paying member of STC and take advantage of all the benefits of membership set aside for STC members only. "Members Only" benefits let you have

Full access to the Society's jobs database and salary survey.
Full access to the membership directory.
Full access with search capability to STC's award-winning publications: Intercom, Conference Proceedings, Technical Communications Journal.
Voting privileges in STC elections.
Society-level recognitions, grants, and awards.
Forums for sharing your expertise, expressing your professional opinion, and building a reputation within the industry. Share your expertise and give back to the profession of technical communication.
Training seminars and workshops to advance your career.
Health and other types of insurance plans.
Worldwide networking opportunities through STC's 140 chapters and annual conferences
STC helps shape the entire profession—and you help shape STC. Serving on a Society-level committee or taking on the duties of office ensures that your experience benefits technical communication for years to come.
Publishing opportunities in STC publications and newsletters.
Polish your presentation skills and share your knowledge by speaking at an STC conference or seminar.

Your membership dues help fund events that are available to the community at large. These include

Jobs database where employers and recruiters can post their openings
International competitions that recognize the very best examples of technical communication, including technical publications, art, and online communication
Scholarships for students of technical communication
Fellowships that help bridge the gap between technical communication practitioners and teachers
Sponsoring an honorary fraternity for college students majoring in technical communication
Honoring outstanding teachers of technical communication
Financing research grants that further the understanding of learning and communication
Providing continual learning opportunities

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Why Should You Join the WDC Chapter?

Members of the Washington, DC Chapter may take advantage of all the "Members Only" resources on the WDC Website and other chapter affiliation benefits:

List your skills and availabiltiy in the chapter's Talent Pool (FREE for STC members; nonmembers are charged a fee of $10 per year and are flagged as nonmembers)
List your company in our Documentation Contractors / Consultants page (FREE for STC members; nonmembers are charged a fee of $10 per year and are flagged as nonmembers)
List your speaking topics and availability in our Speakers Bureau pages (FREE for STC members; nonmembers are charged a fee of $10 per year and are flagged as nonmembers)
List your book or other publications on the Chapter Members' Publications page and include a link to the Amazon.com site if it is for sale
Advertise your professional accomplishments on our Website, newsletter, and discussion lists
Earn chapter-level recognitions and awards
Be nominated for Society-level recognitions and awards
Vote in chapter elections
Participate in the CHAT discussion list
Grow your leadership capabilities as an elected chapter officer
Learn new skills as a member of a chapter committee
Get a copy of the chapter membership directory

By affiliating with the WDC Chapter, a portion of your STC membership dues help fund WDC Chapter events that are available to the community at large. These include

Scholarships for high school and college students studying technical communication
Access to one of the largest chapter-level job announcement listings for jobs in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (Maryland, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia)
Enter or judge in local competitions for online communication, technical art, and technical publications that provide professional feedback on the quality of your work and recognizes the very best examples of technical communication (the chapter submits and pays for the international-level competition entry fees for all entries that are given an award of Distinction in our chapter-level competitions)
Monthly events with expert speakers on topics that affect your career, tools, and life
Free job announcement postings for employers and recruiters
Opportunities to network with and mentor other chapter members through our events, committees, competitions, and discussion lists
Local special interest groups to connect you with others who have the same interests and subject-matter expertise to help answer your questions

You may affiliate with your local chapter and other STC chapters or SIGs that interest you for an additional $10 each.

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How to Join

STC recently redesigned its membership structure to include several new categories of membership, each of which offers a different value to members. Before joining, please read the descriptions of Classic Membership, Limited Membership, E-membership, and Student Membership on http://www.stc.org/membership/join01.asp.

Annual dues are payable to STC on January 1 (membership year ends on December 31). Membership may not be transferred or assigned to another person. STC dues are tax deductible. A receipt and membership card will be mailed to you after your payment is received. New members joining on or after July 1 (but before October 1) pay full dues for the remainder of the year(ending December 31). However, they receive a credit of 50 percent towards the following year's dues. New members joining on or after October 1 receive full credit for the following year. Dues are paid to the Society for Technical Communication and include membership in a local chapter. Initial chapter assignment is made upon approval of the membership application, and a portion of each member's dues is rebated to the local chapter. Fifteen dollars is applied towards a subscription to the quarterly journal, Technical Communication, and $15 is for the monthly magazine, Intercom.

Application Forms

Online new member application encrypted by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
PDF version (1.6MB )

Mail application forms to the Society office:

Society for Technical Communication
Membership Department
901 North Stuart Street
Suite 904
Arlington VA 22203-1822

Phone: 703-522-4114
Fax: 703-522-2075
E-mail:

Corporate Membership

See the Corporate Sponsorship and Sustaining Organizations page for how organizations and corporations may become members or supporters.

Corporate Value Program & STC Partnerships

STC has established the Corporate Value Program (CVP) to meet the individual needs of your company. The CVP offers you a variety of options, tailored to meet your individual corporate technical communication needs. You can choose between memberships for all your staff or just a few. A large variety of benefits are offered to meet the individual needs of your company. Benefits include the following and more.

E-memberships for company employees, which includes access to STC's members only knowledge base
CVP Memberships are transferable if employees leave the company
Special CVP rates on STC training and education offerings, including webinars
Special CVP rates on STC exhibits and sponsorship benefits at the Annual Conference
Recognition on the homepage of STC.org
Special CVP rates on advertising in STC online and printed publications

See the Corporate Value Program (CVP) page for more information.

Corporate Value Program Members

For detailed information about each of the following companies and how they partner with STC, see http://www.stc.org/membership/cvp02_a.asp

Autodata Solutions
BMC Software, Inc.
Human Factors International (HFI).
Innovatia
Ken Cook Co.
LinguaLinx, Inc.
Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA)
Northwest Translations, Inc.
RTI International* (*RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute)
SDL International
Westinghouse Electric Company

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Renew Your Dues

The Society office will send out the first renewal notice to all members by e-mail the first week in October. You may renew your dues online starting in October. The first U.S. postal mail to members (including a renewal invoice) will be sent out in mid-November. The renewal deadline is January 1 if you want to vote in the STC elections.

The last renewal date to renew STC membership is March 31. After that, your membership becomes inactive. You may renew your membership online at the Society's Web site:
https://access.stc.org/JoinSTC/Renewal.aspx

Change or Upgrade Your Membership

If you've already renewed, you may change or upgrade your membership category and add or delete affiliations to chapters and SIGs with the STC Membership Change/Upgrade Form.

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STC Brochures

10 Reasons to Join STC Brochure (PDF file - 288KB)
STC Can Help Employers STC Brochure (PDF file - 168KB)
A Career in Technical Communication STC Brochure (PDF file - 88KB)
STC Information Request Form

Membership • Change of Address Form • Join STC and the Washington DC, Chapter
Corporate Sponsorship and Sustaining Organizations

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