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.
Frankly, I don't see how it I can possibly not take your message
the wrong way, if the wrong way is to disagree with you.
JUST because I need work? My congratulations if you are so well off
that you think that which keeps me alive is a lesser concern than the "industry" remaining "competitive." I'm sorry if I'm betraying the "industry" by
being willing to accept lower wages than what I got 2 years ago because
I have this strange need to know that I can buy groceries next month.
No, I don't just need work. I need to stay alive. Work is JUST the thing that makes that possible.
Mine is the logic of living without a huge nest egg in a badly
deteriorated market where there are lots of competition for openings
and very few openings. As for whether or not I'm helping the "industry"
remaining "competitive," I'll let that be a concern when the
"industry" coughs up the rent money I won't have if I worry more about remaining "competitive" than I worry about getting a job. You want to
know a real definition of not remaining competitive? Being unable to
look for work because the internet access has been cut off for lack of
payment.
Where do you live that you consider $22 an hour poverty wages? Beverly Hills? It certainly won't pay for a house with a swimming pool but there have been many years I'd have cheerfully committed...if not murder, than at least some serious crime for a pay rate that high.
I've been either unemployed or ridiculously underemployed for more than
a year and a half, largely because I have been trying to resist the downward spiral of wages. I have used up my
unemployment benefits and burned through all the savings I had. I've
turned down jobs at $25 and $27 an hour because they were on 1099 or
because I thought the nature and scope of the work justified higher
rates. I finally took a job at $27 an hour because the unemployment was running out, and that job is now over. My last month in that job they limited me to less than 20 hours a week because the project went over schedule and the money was drying up. In the last 20 months I've had exactly one possibility that
offered more than $29 an hour, and I couldn't get that because I've never used
XMetal. And you want me to stand firm and demand $40 an hour so I can
help the "industry" remain "competitive?" If the "industry" wants me to make it even harder on myself to find work for its sake, then the "industry" can back me up in a meaningful way or it can take a hike.
Who said anything about offering to work for free? Where did you get that?
I know all the cant about how our work adds value to the company and
its products. Tell it to the places where I've been getting turned down
for jobs. They don't listen to me when I try to tell them. And if the
documenting work is for internal use, they won't care about any spiel
related to customers.
Specialization. Concentrating on a few limited types of work? In a down
market? The number of companies that may have need for a tech writer is
down, all the companies remaining in those fields are much smaller than
they were, lots of them are still downsizing, there are many more
people looking for fewer jobs, and you think in these circumstances it
makes sense to limit the number of fields in which I look for work?
That's like in the middle of a famine you decide to eat only one type
of vegetable.
Maybe you can afford your definition of "competitive." I can't.
End of rant. Down off soapboax. Everybody on the list have fun and I wish you good luck. Good night.
--- On Mon, 10/25/10, Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca> wrote:
From: Tony Chung <tonyc -at- tonychung -dot- ca>
Subject: Re: Rates
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Monday, October 25, 2010, 8:21 PM
Don't take this the wrong way, Keith, but that logic is flawed. To
accept a poverty wage just because you need work makes it difficult
for the entire industry to remain competitive. Employers will ask why
bother hiring a contractor at $40-100/hour when they can hire
experienced people for $20/hour?
As professionals we need to communicate a value that transcends cost.
Quality technical writing mitigates risk, reduces customer support
calls, and improves customer satisfaction with the company overall.
You can't justify working for free or cheap in the light of what you
offer the company.
For those who are looking for work, when the going gets tough, the
tough specialize. Are there areas in which you could specialize?
Subject matter expertise, production speed, understanding of
collaborative writing, multi-channel deliverables, multi-sourcing,
social media, documentation through the development process, training
materials development, business analysis, content strategy and
migration, programming, hardware testing ... any of these increase
your core value beyond the generalist fresh out of college.
For $18 to 22/hour, I could score a sweet government job in the typing
pool. The higher wages are for greater responsibility, for instance,
accounting or materials management. As a programming technical writer
I feel that I should be able to increase profits for the compan(ies)
that hire me more than enough to accommodate my desired wage.
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com -dot-
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
