Re: I'm taking my marbles and going home...

[kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com]

Andrew wrote:

>Furthermore, $25 an hour is not some poverty wage. That's $4000 a 
>month or $1000 a week (assuming 40 hrs per week). After taxes, that 
>would be around $3200 a month. Maybe a bit less.......
>......Last I checked, unemployment was paying 
>about $800 a month in Seattle (2 friends up there are collecting
>unemployment right now). That is not *anywhere* close to $4000 a month.

>Also, what you define as a "talented and motivated technical writer" 
>might not be the same definition as the employer. 


Agreed on all counts. For a self-employed contractor, it's not a great
wage, after the taxes and expenses you'll incur. So if you're in an
economic situation where you don't need the interim income, fair enough.

I just figure that if/when *my* job goes away, I'd rather be earning some
actual money, instead of squeaking by indefinitely on savings and
unemployment. Plus I'd be adding another gig to my resume, rather than a
gap lasting several months or more.

Also - it sounds like the ad was for a "talented and motivated technical
writer," NOT a "technical writer with 10 years experience." When I see
"motivated" in a job ad, it often means "hungry/entry-level" to me. There
were times I wouldn't even look at an entry-level gig. But times have
changed. And while that's not great money, it beats the hell out of what I
made driving a truck.

We're not in a gold rush anymore. If anything, it's an ice age. If you
were smart/fortunate enough to have amassed enough savings to weather this
storm, then you might be in a position to pass on gigs like this. But many
of us instead need to adapt to the fact that times have changed, and
adjust our expectations accordingly. And pray that it's temporary.

But it might not be. 

If we ignore everything changing around us, determined that things will
return to normal, we run the risk of freezing to death in this hi-tech ice
age.

I for one am trying to adapt, to evolve; to grow some fur to keep warm.
(And maybe some tusks - that would be cool!)

Good luck to us all!


Keith Cronin
__________________

The fact is, sometimes, you can clap your hands, but Tinkerbell still
dies.
- Bruce Byfield


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