Re: Asking for opinions about this job

[David Castro <thejavaguy -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On 1/11/06, A <aurora -at- identicloak -dot- com> wrote:
>
> You are being treated as a slave. Your situation is extremely atypical
> and extremely poor. I would get out ASAP.

I disagree. The poster's situation actually sounds appealing, to me,
based on what he/she is documenting. I *love* writing for software
engineers, and really miss it. I also like having lots of different
things going on all at the same time. I hate working on the same
document for months and months. That's probably why I have tended
toward startups (which, in turn, has led me to three layoffs within
the first ten years of my career...but I digress).

What I would like to know from the original poster, is how many hours
of overtime do you work in a given month? And are you paid for the
overtime? I am currently getting paid for my overtime (one nice facet
of working as a government contractor). I would love to have too much
to do, as it would enable me to feather my nest nicely.

If you are working overtime every week to make things work, then stop.
Or at least severely curtail it. Set a limit for what you're willing
to work in a week. If everyone around there does 45-50 hours weeks,
then make sure you're not working less than 45, but make sure you're
not working more than 50.

This is an excellent opportunity for you to flex your management
muscles. As was recommended in another reply, start managing your
projects. You know how much time you have available...start sharing
that when new requests come in. If someone wants to cut in line, tell
them that they need to go and speak with the people in front of whom
they are cutting, and approve it with them. People will likely get
frustrated, and will be more amenable to hiring additional writers.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

-David Castro
 thejavaguy -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com

To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.