Alabama’s largest and most industrialized city, Birmingham has had a relatively stable job market for technical writers and editors, with little significant turnover in permanent employment, though considerable turnover in contract work. In recent years, we've seen growth in some areas, leading in 1993 to a new STC chapter, which is now very active.

The telecommunications industry is a major employer in Birmingham. BellSouth and Andersen Consulting, its outsourced Information Technology department, has been a good market in recent years. Andersen Consulting hires writers as permanent employees; many vendors supply both Andersen and BellSouth with consultants. Some of those vendors hire temporary hourly employees and some offer permanent salaried jobs with benefits. Some offer both.

The health care industry is important to Birmingham's economy, and many STC members work in permanent jobs for insurance providers or medical software vendors. The University of Alabama is a large employer, though their demand for technical writers seems small. Utilities and engineering companies also hire technical writers.

Layoffs of permanent employees have been rare in recent years. However, contractors should expect cycles of layoffs from time to time. In the fall of 1999, many contractors lost their jobs, but now that we’ve crossed the threshold of Y2K, such layoffs are rare.

Birmingham, along with the rest of the world, breathed a collective sigh of relief early in 2000. The few problems that occurred were quickly solved, and the prevailing attitude seems to be one of pent-up enthusiasm for new projects that had been postponed until the Y2K milestone.

A problem that is not unique to Birmingham is one of employer education. The STC Employment chair reports that talks with recruiters reveal that "the clients and employers often don't really know what a technical writer can do for them." STC probably offers the best hope for educating employers and recruiters.

Overall, Birmingham offers plenty of opportunity for good technical writers and an active STC chapter that is a wonderful networking and educational resource.

To place your resume with the Birmingham STC Employment Committee, email:
Peggy Gargis
jmgar@bellsouth.net

(Note: This is not an exhaustive list and does not represent endorsement. Most of these have web sites that match their names. Please send additions and corrections, including URLs, to jmgar@bellsouth.net)