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When I interviewed in the Washington, DC area in 2001 and 2002, I used the
STC salary survey figures for the preceding years as my basis for a salary
target. Some of the interviewers asked to see the source document on the
Internet rather than just reading my printout. All of them accepted the STC
figures as a reasonable, professional standard. Of course, many of them said
that, standard or no standard, their own companies could not afford to pay
that much.
Near as I can tell, they're fairly accurate (at least for Charlotte, NC) It
was all the proof I needed to negotiate a fairly significant raise last
week! Either that or HR people believe in the infallibility of Salary.com
the way some TW's believe in the MS Manual of Style ;)
Chances are, the entry level positions you're interviewing with are some of
"those" companies... You know, the ones that think if you can use MS Word,
you can be a technical writer?
I'd keep looking, if possible... If the company really knows what a TW can
add to a project, they'll be willing to pay for it.
Good luck
Connie P. Giordano
Senior Technical Writer
Advisor Technology Services
A Fidelity Investments Company
704-330-2069 (w)
704-330-2350 (f)
704-957-8450 (c)
connie -dot- giordano -at- fmr -dot- com
"Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause I'm afraid
that we've been cheated here on Earth" - Clint Black "Galaxy Song"
-----Original Message-----
From: cor -at- techwritercor -dot- com [mailto:cor -at- techwritercor -dot- com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 2:31 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: salary.com
Does anyone know how current and accurate the salary listings for technical
writers at specific locations throughout the US are on salary.com? I've had
a couple of interviews for entry-level positions and it seems what I'm being
offered is about $15,000 less than the lowest pay shown on salary.com.
