atw: Re: Fields of Tech Communication

Hi Gang

I'm wondering how many contractors out there have a
mortgage and/or own a nice car? If you've got no
financial commitments, then contracting sounds great.
But, security and stability are for me... More to the
point though, I really enjoy the relationships and
intimacy that are forged during a long period of
working with the same people.

Merry Christmas!
Nigel


-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Fiona Currie
Sent: Thursday, 16 December 2004 5:42 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Fields of Tech Communication


But doesn't the 85000 include danger money? ;o
Peter Rule <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:Hi Ilana,
Remember: the grass is always greener on the other
side.

Contracting can be difficult to get used to and it
takes time to develop the contacts that you need to
provide reasonably constant work; and you are always
managing those contacts as they change constantly. And
luck and timing seem to always have a lot to do with
it.

I've been contracting for the 3 yrs or so since we
worked together and certainly the first year was the
hardest in terms of the amount of work picked up. But
since then I've never really felt like going back to a
permanent job. You get much more attuned to selling
your services as a business; and this is how I treat
it. You can certainly make a decent living out of it
(In the last two years I have easilly earned twice the
salary I was on 3yrs ago). Although I suspect the
disparity between contract rates and salaried jobs is
diminishing (my current position - as a contractor -
has just been advertised as a full time job at 85000
for example) and contract rates haven't really moved in
3 yrs.

I don't find the constant looking for work a drag. In
my experience this aspect is actually much less
stressful than job seeking when a permanent. Two
reasons: a) you do it alot, so you get good at it (you
have to!) and, b) you do it alot so you know that your
whole world is not reliant on you getting that
"specific" job and that another "possible" is just
around the corner. You accept rejection much more
happily and move on quickly (like about 3 seconds).

I know many people on this list have had the experience
of suddenly being out of work whether they had a
permanent or a contract job. And certainly, contractors
are universally better equipped to handled those times
when they do occur (simply because of their constant
experience of applying for work).

Of course you really need to be set up financially to
cover the down times as well as the possible extended
down times. But is this really any different to having
a permanent job?

Pete





-----Original message-----
From: Ilana Cohney Ilana.Cohney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 09:58:58 +1100
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Fields of Tech Communication

> Hi all,
> Not exactly the same topic but I also am considering
a work change.
> Over the years I have been mainly working in a series
of permanent
> positions for both IT and non-IT orgnisations. I have
been in my
> current position for two years. I seems that after a
couple of years in
> an orgnisation, the profile and worth of the
technical writer is much
> less than it was at the beginning. When I commence a
new job there is
> usually much appreciation that at last there is
someone who can actually
> write to take over all those pesky documents and Help
projects. After a
> year or two the core system, online and procedure
documents have been
> written and (in my experience) the writer goes into
"maintenance" mode.
> This means that you are no longer seen as an
important asset to the
> company. As was so innocently put to me by my boss
last week, "In our
> experience, no-one actually uses the online Help
anyway!" After all
> documentation does not actually generate revenue for
the business like
> programming or project management does!
>
> My question actually is, how difficult is it to
actually make a decent
> living out of contract work? At the moment, it
certainly looks more
> appealing to me than dealing with another lot of
patronising,
> unappreciative ....need I say more... set of bosses.
My problem is
> that when I am looking for work, I panic and accept a
permanent job and
> its security because the thought of starving does not
appeal much
> either. Those of you contractors, do you find the
constant job search a
> real grind or do the benefits outweigh the negatives
of a permanent
> position?
> Ilana
> **************************************************
> To post a message to austechwriter, send the message
to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in
the Subject field.
>
> To unsubscribe, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe"
in the Subject field.
>
> To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
>
> To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> **************************************************


**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in
the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe"
in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************




---------------------------------
Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.


**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in
the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe"
in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to 
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: