Certification for Technical Communicators – do we really need it?

Some of those in the Tech Comm profession may feel (and rightly so) that we spend a lot of time attempting to legitimize our existence – whether it be to our current employer, as a required member of a development team, or generally feeling the need to prove the value we provide. There’s often a cloud of insecurity looming not too far above the heads of those that carry the Tech Comm banner – granted, today, there are many insecurity clouds of many sizes looming over a lot of folks in the software industry – but Tech Comm folks have a much more mature relationship with their personal clouds.

Will an ‘official’ certification help to assuage any of those feelings by helping to cut through the dark nebulosity’s hanging above? Probably. Maybe, for some.

But there is still much to be said for *just* doing your job well – being a positive, contributing member to whatever team you belong to and *earning* the respect of your co-workers and superiors, through results. Would a certificate help with this process? No. Most software developers (and yes, even some in management positions) aren’t interested in what it is that a Tech Writer even does, let alone, whether or not they’re certified to do it.

Now, maybe this isn’t as important for those of us that have been around for awhile. Maybe I’m taking this too personally, as a Tech Comm guy who no longer belongs to the Society For Technical Communication (STC) and has been doing this job for nearly a decade. But maybe for future writers, certification can help give them that little edge needed to stand out in a pile of resumes. Maybe.

Or, on the other extreme end of that spectrum, maybe it’s just an attempt by an organization to further legitimize its existence and add some clout – hopefully attracting more members in the process (and earn some money along the way – the certification program will not be free, after all).

Now I let my membership lapse a long time ago – after only a couple years. I felt the overall relevancy of the organization had waned, even in the short time I belonged. The association looked good on a resume when first starting out – so I had read – so I joined, but after I had established myself and made my way along that Tech Comm path, I lost interest. That said, I still watch curiously from a distance, and participate vicariously through various twitter and blogs and it does seem that the focus has begun to change, recently, and for the better. The organization does appear to be doing a better job at keeping up with current trends – and – of even more importance, they have a lot of support from a lot of very talented people.

I’ll wait and see where this goes – and I’ll never say never, again – but I’m interested to hear what other tech writers have to say.