Re: Salary bell curve: on the downside

Subject: Re: Salary bell curve: on the downside
From: "Scott Holstad" <SHolstad -at- ci -dot- knoxville -dot- tn -dot- us>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 09:49:20 -0400

Matthew,

No offense intended, but it's such a relief to hear about someone else in the same boat. For the last few years, my salary steadily increased by 11%-16% per year for a large start-up in L.A. In 1999, I made a pretty good income.

I moved to Tennessee (family). I recently did taxes and was mortified to find that this past year I made one fourth of what I did in L.A. the previous year! In fact, my salary is so depressingly low, that it's the exact same amount I made before I ever became a tech writer, with my first job out of grad school as a copyeditor. 14 books written, 6 years tech writing experience, and entry level salary. Maybe I should go back to being a university professor. I wouldn't make any money there either, but at least I'd get summers off....

Scott

>>> "Matthew Danda" <mattspam -at- dandaweb -dot- com> 05/13 2:40 PM >>>
Hello all:

Anyone else experiencing the down-side of the salary curve?

I recently found an embarrassing post on TECHWRL I made about 3.5 years ago,
bragging about how I had been reaping massive raises by job hopping.

Funny thing has happened lately, as I end my 7th year in this profession, I
made the exact same that I made during my 2nd year. My 4th and 5th years
were pretty good, but since then my income has been steadily dropping. A
perfect Bell curve.

Of course, there are circumstances. Namely, spending the last year as a
freelance writer pursuing book deals with a major publisher, instead of
working as a salary tech writer. It feels strange, though, to be at the top
of my form--having achieved published author status this year--yet to be so,
well, poor.

If anything, after all my experiences, I'm still lean and hungry, eyes set
on the stars, and still unspoiled by cushy salary jobs or stock options. At
least, that's how I rationalize having a jam-packed resume with a entry
level income. Uh-oh, is this another cry of hubris that I'll be embarrassed
about later...?

Matthew Danda



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by Information Mapping, Inc., a professional services firm
specializing in Knowledge Management and e-content solutions. See
http://www.infomap.com or 800-463-6627 for more about our solutions.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


Previous by Author: Re: RE: New tech writer employment tips?
Next by Author: Re: The Bunny Hop
Previous by Thread: RE: Salary bell curve: on the downside
Next by Thread: Re: Salary bell curve: on the downside


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


Sponsored Ads