Re: staff consultants

Subject: Re: staff consultants
From: Ann Mackenzie <AnnMacknz -at- AOL -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 11:01:40 EST

In a message dated 98-01-26 10:27:15 EST, Emily wrote:

<< I have a possibility of taking a position with a consulting
company (i'll call it XYZ) that has about 55 tech. writing staff
consultants that work for XYZ (receiving XYZ benefits, salary, on-site
training etc.) but work on various projects for all kinds of different
companies. XYZ gives the opportunity of working on or off-site,
depending on the requirements of the project, and provides the equipment
and software necessary for any particular project. My main questions are
-- 1.) Is this a good step for someone who has no experience consulting
but wants to ultimately go completely freelance at some point? 2.) What
is a good approximation of salary for a staff consultant? All comments,
suggestions, pros and cons, are greatly appreciated! Thanks! >>

Yes Emily -

I think this is an excellent way to break into consulting, because as a "staff
consultant" you will be learning how to come up to speed quickly in a variety
of client environments and you will learn if you have the disposition and
tenacity for contracting, but you will still be a salaried employee of the
consulting firm.

Later, after you find that you like the benefits of being a contractor, such
as learning new software, hardware, and applications, and not becoming
involved in the wrangles of company politics, you can break free of the
consulting firm and start your own business.

Starting and running a business is very demanding for most of us who have
experience only as employees, and do not have a business background. At this
point, I think all the contractors on this list will agree, a good accountant
(one who specializes in *small* businesses) is priceless and will save his/her
fees several times over by keeping you from paying the penalities of
inexperience and ignorance in dealing with various government agencies.

As for salary, I'd use STC's salary survey to learn the going rates for
writers in my area. Don't expect too much, generally consulting firms pay as
little as they can, that's why so many of us start our own businesses! :-)

My $0.0308 (inflation and interest)

Cheers Ann
==========================
Ann Mackenzie: AnnMacknz -at- aol -dot- com
TekDoc - Technical Documentation, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI, USA
specializing in software & engineering writing and policies & procedures
I'm becoming available. Know of any interesting projects that require online
writing without already having the experience? I want to learn that next.




Previous by Author: Re: FWD: Scenario: You're hired a new writer...
Next by Author: Re: URGENT Resume Quandry - Advise me(verb) Please
Previous by Thread: Re: staff consultants
Next by Thread: Re: staff consultants


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads