TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
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In 1994 I was contractin gin Massachsetts for ~ 33 USD/hr.
I then lived abroad for a number of years, doing tech writing. Now upon my
return I am being offered contracts at 30 - 35 USD again.
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When I held my last contract position about 5 years ago, I was making something over $36 or $37/hour here in the Chicago area. When I was job-hunting in the same area about 18 months ago after being laid off and (happily) unemployed for 2 years, I thought I'd go back to contracting to make higher wages and maybe have some downtime between contracts so I could be with my kids.
Manpower kept calling me with writing opportunities that paid only $17-18/hour. The job descriptions sounded like they were looking for senior-level experience, and they tried to downplay the poor pay by making the job sound exciting. With the one opportunity like this that I bothered interviewing for, they were salivating over my experience during the interview, and I got offered the job within hours of my interview. Since what they were paying would barely cover the cost of gas and day care for my three kids, I respectfully declined. After a few months of "opportunities" like that, a permanent position sounded pretty good, even if it wasn't senior-level. It turned out for the best because I love my current job. :-)
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