TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Posada
> Maybe I'm missing something. What IS wrong with it? The word "assist"
> lets me know that someone more senior will be looking over the
> effort. As far as the requirements, they might be a little stiff, but
> not much.
John,
I think what "L" was trying to convey is that this company claims to be looking for someone with 1 to 2 years of experience, but they describe required skills that would easily take many more years than that to develop. They're probably hoping to get someone who was downsized out of somewhere else and who is desperate for a job--ANY job.
This is evidence of how and why many salaries have gone down for tech writers over the last few years. The job descriptions have changed so that they call you and pay you as "entry level," but you're expected to do intermediate- to senior-level work. That's why last year I was offered $17/hour for a contract job with a description much like that. They wanted top skills without having to pay much for them. (I politely turned down that job rather than telling them what I thought of their offer.)
As I sit here doing the work of a senior technical writer and getting paid for the next level down, I think about this a lot. What are my choices? Take it or leave it. Fortunately, I really like my job, so it makes it easier to accept that I make some $15K less than I did when I got laid off back in 2001 from a job that I didn't like much (and more than $20K less than a friend who still works for the same company and has gotten a few raises since), but it still doesn't sit well with me all the time. I feel undervalued and unappreciated in some ways, and I can point to this as the main reason why.
And people wonder why I play the lotto when the jackpot is big. Tomorrow's Mega Millions drawing is $90+ million. Where do I buy my ticket? :-)
Donna
Donna L. Jones
--------------------------------------
Technical Writer II
Zebra Technologies Corp.
Vernon Hills, IL
djones -at- zebra -dot- com
ROBOHELP X5 - SEE THE ALL NEW ROBOHELP X5 IN ACTION!
RoboHelp X5 is a giant leap forward in Help authoring technology, featuring all new Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author support, PDF and XML support and much more! View an online demo: http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrldemo
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
