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Subject:Re: Advise for beginners From:Shorter Rankin <srank -at- PACBELL -dot- NET> Date:Sun, 18 Jan 1998 07:05:19 -0800
Documentation Dept. wrote:
>
> I have two things to add to Douglas Engstrom's list of advice for new
> technical writers --
>
> 1) get a direct-pay health insurance plan
>
> 2) start an Individual Retirement Account
>
> (bear with me Eric - this isn't about writing per se, but it's
> certainly about the TW job).
Support for this comes from no less an authority than Peter Kent.
He devotes a good deal of space in "Making Money in Technical
Writing" to the very questions you cite.
Nea Dodson wrote:
>
> Most of the jobs I see being offered to technical writers around here
> are contract jobs, which means that even if the company offers health
> benefits - and many don't - the benefits run out as soon as the
> contract does. And, of course, none of the short-term jobs offer
> pension or retirement plans. Which means that if you want to make a
> career of technical writing, you have to take care of these essentials
> yourself.
>
> Nea Dodson
> The account is my company's, the opinions are my own
> ==
> DocDept -at- yahoo -dot- com
> Computer Based Systems, Inc.
> EPA/EPCRA
> The opinions expressed are mine only, and do not
> necessarily reflect those of CBSI or EPA/EPCRA
Shorter Rankin
Sacramento, CA mailto:srank -at- pacbell -dot- net
