Re: Job Futures for Tech Writing

[Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>]

On Thu, 1 Dec 1994, Gwen Gall wrote:

> I have seen (and had to fix) too many manuals that were badly written,
> inaccuracte, and incomplete thanks to contractors. NOT because the contractors
> themselves were inherently incompetent, but because they were not given
> sufficient time, access to the product, or respect.

Unfortunately all too true.  Anyone who thinks a manual can be assembled
without adequate time and access either has never tried to write one, is
unusually talented, or is incompetent.
 >
> This is a trend we should resist. One problem, though--contractors make way
> better money for the most part than employees. The low pay for employees is,
> I think, part of the respect problem.

Higher pay is all relative.  Keep in mind that contractors have no
benefits.  I've did a little of this before going back to school.  I my
experience, the higher hourly rate did not begin to cover the higher
overhead:  power for my system, paper, marketing time and costs, taxes,
etc., to say nothing of health insurance, unemployment compensation, and so
on--tabs which are generally picked up by employers so that employees don't
always see how they figure into the complete picture.


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                RoMay Sitze                 rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu

                Practice makes perfect--or perfectly awful.
                It depends on what you practice.

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