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As the manager of a documentation consulting and staffing firm, my viewpoint
is that if you are self-employed you must find ways to build into the rates
you charge and the schedule of your project work to allow for SOME
professional development time.
Here's where some blatant self-promotion comes in:
If you are choosing to find work through agencies (such as ours,
www.nsightcom.com)they may have a training benefit that you can take
advantage of.
-----Original Message-----
From: Technical Writers List; for all Technical Communication issues
[mailto:TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU]On Behalf Of Diana Garcia
Sent: Friday, April 09, 1999 11:27 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Contractors' skills
John Posada wrote:
>>>
If I think I'm lacking in online help, I'll look for a contract that has a
concentration in that area. In this way, I'm continualy upgrading my
weakness.
>>>
This issue has been on my mind lately. I've been a contractor in the Boston
area for 5+ years and loving (almost) every minute. My employers have given
me lots of opportunities to learn new tools and skills. However, I'm
concerned about staying current on the latest and greatest, for example HTML
Help, XML, etc.
What do contractors do about continuing education? Do you take courses,
teach yourselves on your own time, or look for contract work where you can
learn on the job? I'm interested in taking some formal courses, but so far,
I've been held back by their expense and the loss of billable hours. Do
other contractors think the benefits outweigh the costs?
If you don't have valid training or skills in a particular technology, how
do you sell yourself to a potential client? My experience has been that a
client usually hires me based on what I already know and later might be
willing to let me try out something new.
Looking forward to your comments.
Diana Garcia
Technical Writer
E-mail: diana -dot- garcia -at- digital -dot- com
