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.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Several empty desks in our office this week, after half a dozen contractors wrapped up and said goodbye on New Year's Eve... they said it to only a handful of us captive long-timer/full-timers, since the rest were out on vacation.
But yesterday, my group (as the only techwriter here, I'm lumped in with Engineering Test) welcomed a new tester and there were interviews in one of the conference rooms, involving one of the software development managers. I _think_ I see a soft, but detectable, trend toward coming back up to strength with employees (as opposed to contractors... though most of the ones who just left were here for a year plus).
Not sure what that implies for y'all, 'cuz I'm in Canada (where we were not hit as hard by your recession), though my employer is an American company. Overall, the information security biz seems like a good one to be in, because with only the tiniest of belt-tightenings, the company has (so far) come through the down-turn with a brief slowing of growth, no overall loss.
Another hopeful sign - economy-wise, and by extension hope for employment prospects - was the fact that we were able to put our house up for sale on December 12, have several viewings over the run-up to Christmas and through the holiday, and serious offers, and conditions waived on the sale yesterday. The real estate market is generally a good economic indicator. And now, at least three moving companies are going to have business in late February. :-) They probably don't employ techwriters, but they employ people who buy stuff... from companies that employ techwriters.
Cheers,
- Kevin (who "needs" a massive, counter-height table and chairs for the new house, along with a big-screen TV, laptop for Mom-in-law, etc.... doing our bit for everybody's employment)
PS: I have't broken it to her (an 85-year-old woman) yet, but I've pretty much decided that Mum-in-Law's next computer will be a MacBook Pro - this is to save our sanity; the woman just WILL not stop opening e-mail attachments on her Windoze computer, and guess who gets to clean up the malware mess every few weeks. She'd have a learning curve from her old XP to a new Windows 7 box anyway, so going to Mac instead shouldn't be a hardship. In fact, I might not even tell her it isn't the new Windows... heh-heh-heh
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr
-l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 2:28 AM
> To: TECHWR-L Writing
> Subject: Re: Q1 2010 job market
>
> I think you'll be seeing this for some time. Except for
> companies working on
> multiyear government contracts, hiring is happening mostly on
> a per-project
> basis.
>
> Gene Kim-Eng
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert Lauriston" <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
> > The good news: on the first business day of the quarter,
> I've got two
> > phone interviews, so I'm two for five of the applications I
> submitted
> > in the past few weeks.
> >
> > The bad news: they're both for three-month contracts, and I've seen
> > only one company advertising permanent positions.
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
message and deleting it from your computer without copying
or disclosing it.
Are you looking for one documentation tool that does it all? Author,
build, test, and publish your Help files with just one easy-to-use tool.
Try the latest Doc-To-Help 2009 v3 risk-free for 30-days at: http://www.doctohelp.com/
Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at: http://www.ModernAnalyst.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
