Does anyone know of or if there has been a recent salary survey for BC or localized to Vancouver or Victoria? The last STC survey I have that includes Canada is from 2005 or 2006. I know STC has a recent one, but it is US based and costs money. I read somewhere that STC Alberta also did one, but again it is localized to their area.

What do you think of doing a survey for the STC Canada West Coast chapter?

Thank you,

Randi

Hi Randi
Mellissa Ruryk here, the chapter’s VP. Sorry for the delay in answering!  I spent the last 10 years in Alberta, where, yes, they do an annual salary survey for their own province. Currently, the Canadian STC Chapters’ Presidents’ group is looking into doing a Salary Survey that would cover all the provinces where there are technical writers. We are waiting to see the results of their decision, including seeing what the questions cover and how the survey would be structured.
I have access to the Alberta survey questions and a copy of the 2010 results. It would not take a lot to duplicate their efforts here in BC if we only had a committed, enthusiastic and ardent volunteer to actually take on the task.  Know of anyone? :-) Otherwise… we’ll just have to wait until the Chapter Presidents finish their efforts.
Thanks for taking the time to post -
Mellissa

Hi Mellissa,

Sure, I will volunteer to do the survey. I have never created a survey before, but I can always learn, besides, isn’t that what Technical Writers do all the time? Contact me and we can discuss how to proceed. Should be interesting.

Randi

Hi all,
Any luck with a salary survey for BC?
I am having the usual roundabout with management who are not equating the American STC data with our BC situation.
I would appreciate any information you have on this.

Thanks,
Catherine Girczyc

Hey Randi,

Thanks for volunteering to do a survey for our province. That will be incredibly helpful for all the writers in BC.

Catherine, here are my thoughts on contractor rates in the Vancouver area, based on 19 years in the field, and 17 as a contractor (including talking to other contractors, monitoring job postings, and telling clients and recruiters that I wouldn’t work for them because they are not paying enough):

0-3 years: New writers, junior positions: $25-$35
3-10 years: Intermediate writers, more complex projects, project planning, estimating, delivery: $35-$55
10+ years: Senior writers, with project management experience including overseeing other writers: $55-$100.

The last category includes all kinds of different clients. Obviously only very large companies and government organizations can afford to pay the higher rates. Previously I would have said even a new writer should be getting at least $30/hour and intermediate writers $50/hour, but I don’t think this is what’s happening in the market.

Don’t forget that if you go through a recruiter they will take $15-$25 off the top of what you are being paid!

Anyone else have any thoughts on contract rates? Do you agree or disagree with what I’ve said here? And what about salary ranges for full-time staff?

I have a blog entry on my website that lists 5 sources of salary information, 2 of them Canadian (with contractors starting at $50/hour)
http://karenrempel.com/technical-writing/what-we-all-want-to-know-what-will-it-cost/

Until we get our very own BC survey, we could pool info here.

Warmly,
Karen