RE: Senior Technical Writer Status

["Dugas, Andrew" <ADugas -at- eTranslate -dot- com>]

It's not about respect or entitlement or being anal about protecting one's
little corner of the world.

It's about $$$. It's about how things work in the Real Business World. 

Call a recruiter and ask how much a TW makes. Then ask how much a Senior TW
makes. Then ask yourself which title you'd rather see on your business card.


End of argument.

Should salaries be based on a more detailed analysis of skills and
experience? Of course. Is that likely to become the norm some day? I
certainly hope so. But until that day dawns, if salary decisions will be
based on my job title, then by God I want the best title I deserve. (Stress
on deserve.)

Beyond that, I don't lose any sleep over it.

Does having a higher title eliminate opportunities because one may be
perceived as overqualfied? Depends on the job market where you live. Here in
the SF Bay Area, there still seems to be a surplus of opportunity. Not like
it was a year or so ago, but a surplus nonetheless. (Although in all
fairness I hear contractors are having a rougher time of it.)

Were there a glut of tech writers, were it a buyer's market, things might be
different. I was laid off for six weeks this summer. Not once did I sense I
missed an opportunity for being overqualified. 

And my new job offered a decent salary boost over my old one - thanks, I
might add, to the Senior on my title.

Andy


-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Byfield [mailto:bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com]
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2001 11:35 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Senior Technical Writer


Dugas, Andrew wrote:

 
> That "Senior" attached to the title translates to about 20% - 30% higher
> compensation ($$$$$).


Conversely, it could also mean that you lose jobs because you look too 
experienced. In such cases, the reasoning is that, if you're qualified 
to do more, you won't be content with a less senior position, and will 
soon move on. That could be annoying if you need the job. So, I'd say 
that the advantages and the disadvantages cancel each other out.


> I notice many posters belong to the "call me what you want, just pay me
> fairly" school of thought. This strikes me as naive. By the same logic
they
> could send in a resume written in crayon, since the qualifications read
the
> same be they written in crayon or laser ink.


Not really. The presentation of your resume shows your professionalism. 
Similarly, refusing to become obsessive about titles strikes me as a 
sign of professionalism. A person overly concerned about titles may like 
playing office politics too much to be someone I'd want to hire.

This entire discussion reminds me of my mother-in-law's shock when she 
learned that the students I taught at university called me by my first 
name. She thought I should insist on "Mr." My reply was that, if I 
couldn't get them to respect me on the basis of my knowledge and 
behaviour, being addressed by a title wouldn't win me respect, either.

The same goes in the office. A title buys me respect for the first five 
minutes of an acquaintance. After that, I have to earn it. I use a title 
in my sig line for business because of that first five minutes, but 
that's about the extent for me. Worrying about it beyond that strikes me 
as a waste of energy.

 
> If your resume says "Senior" they have the assurance that at least SOMEONE
> out there considered you so qualified. No "Senior" and they'll have to
read
> deeper; if they have a lot of resumes, they'll call the non-Seniors last,
if
> ever. Unless of course they are looking to low ball you on salary.


In my experience, when you're filling a senior position, the number of 
entries goes way down anyway. Far from discarding resumes, I've 
generally had to go back to the pile and see if I missed any qualified 
applicants.

Anyway, this argument would carry more weight if "Senior Technical 
Writer" had any generally recognized definition. Since many HR people 
have only the vaguest idea of what a technical writer is, what chance is 
there that they will know what a senior one is?

There are key words that add up to a senior writer, and that is probably 
what you should concentrate on in your resume.



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