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Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
January/February 2003

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STC's Mission

"Designing the Future of Technical Communication"

Independent Contractor Survey

In 2001, STC conducted a survey of technical communicators working as independent contractors or temp agency employees in the United States and Canada. This article gives a brief overview of the results.

According to the survey, a whopping 89% of respondents from the United States work in the computer industry, either hardware or software. Most of them work on technical reports and software manuals. Among respondents from Canada, 71% work in computer software and the majority of their documentation involves software manuals, training materials, and online information systems.

86% of U.S. respondents work on editing documents with only 50% doing copywriting. Results were similar among Canadian respondents: 92% work on editing and 56% on copywriting. In both countries, the primary source of new clients is through referrals. The average wages among U.S. respondents are $65,400/year and $54/hour. Among respondents from Canada it is Can$61,360/year and Can$57/hour.

The detailed survey is available on the STC web site.Top of page
 

 

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