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FWD: Re: Contractors of Questionable Ability and making the leap
Subject:FWD: Re: Contractors of Questionable Ability and making the leap From:"Eric J. Ray" <ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 20 Jan 1998 13:53:43 -0700
Name withheld upon request. Please reply on list.
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Sella Rush wrote:
Personally, I do plan to contract in the future, but I just about keel
over if I think of doing it now--there's so much I either have to learn
or improve on. I consider myself in an apprenticeship right now
(working captive)--three years to go--and there are very specific goals
I've set for myself before I bump myself up. Plenty of people
would--and have!--told me I'm missing the bandwagon, tiptoeing too much,
etc., but at least I know I'll have a fighting chance of doing a great
job when I do start.
How do others see their transition from captive to contract?
---------------
I feel like I'm in a similar situation. I graduated last spring and have been
working in the same TW position since then. Of course, I am interested in what
else is "out there," and wondering when I'm going to be one of the seasoned who
can pick and choose among high-paying positions. I enjoy what I do, have
learned RoboHELP, and see opportunities to lead small projects here, but am not
sure that I can move up in my current company without going into management...
a move I see as leading away from technical writing.
Of course, the almighty dollar comes in. The money here is, frankly, well
below average for the region, and there is required overtime. If I bite the
bullet and stay here, I'm indenturing myself at pizza-delivery wages for the
privilege of gaining experience in my field.
Ultimately, my goal is also to work on a contract basis, but when I see
positions everywhere requiring 3 to 5 years of experience, that's my reality
check. I'm not even qualified to change jobs, much less go into independent
contracting! Meanwhile, I'm letting the small staff of TWers here know where
my interests lie-- in leading small TW projects-- and taking any available
opportunity to increase my knowledge base in DTP applications, web-based markup
and programming languages, and the mechanics of technical writing.
I'd be very interested in discussing this with anyone else off-list who's in
the same boat, or has been.
