RE: We are looking for Scripters to higher (fwd)

  • From: "Chris Hofstader" <chris.hofstader@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:06:04 -0400

Back when I ran the department, starting scripters got around $35,000 USD.
I don't know what they are offering now but, if the things I hear from
people who still work at FS, I doubt it is much more.

JAWS scripting is an odd skill.  People can make a lot of money doing it on
a contract basis for big companies trying to adapt proprietary software to
meet ADA requirements.  Guys like Frank DiPolermo, John Robichaud and Doug
Lee do really well for themselves.  Once in a while, FS will buy a set of
scripts for a popular application from someone who did them independently
and, for this kind of deal, they pay pretty well and may contract with the
author to maintain the scripts as they move forward.

The full time scripters do most of the heavy lifting to make the JAWS user
experience as good as possible.  All of them are blind so they have fewer
opportunities than the mostly sighted C++ software engineers.  Back in the
old days, scripting was a good place to start, learn and move up to the
system programming portion of the department.  One guy to whom we had
promised a promotion and raise is still in scripting as very few blinks have
been promoted in any department at FS over the past three years.

Also, FS has one of the nastiest and most iron clad non-compete,
non-disclosure and non-disparagement contracts in the software industry.
Because Florida law (included in the agreement as the forum for disputes) is
one of the most business friendly in the nation, getting out of the
restrictive covenants is nearly impossible.  Over the past three years, FS
has threatened to sue me for doing some UI consulting for Code Factory,
doing an occasional odd job for Serotek and, most outrageously, trying to
help out on the open source screen reader project that Will started back in
2005.

One blind employee of mine who now works for Adobe was sued for trying to
take a job on the screen reader team at Apple even though FS has no
Macintosh products.  Another was threatened with action for trying to do
scripting contracts after he quit his job in the FS scripting department.  

Meanwhile, Vinny Rapa, a sighted guy who knew the entire FS sales strategy
was allowed to take on a VP job at Humanware without any threat of action.
Other sighties have left and stayed in the biz but the blinks who moved on
have been harassed.

Finally, if you live in a place that has good public transit or is
pedestrian friendly, I can say with absolute authority that you will find
neither in this part of Florida.  Pinellas County, home of FS and me, has a
bus system that doesn't seem to go anywhere interesting.  Downtown St.
Petersburg is reasonably accessible but is far from the FS buildings so will
cost you a bundle in taxi fares to get back and forth.  Also, downtown rents
are pretty high for this part of the country.


cdh



-----Original Message-----
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ken Perry
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 11:46 PM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: We are looking for Scripters to higher (fwd)



Hmm what do they pay a script writer?

Ken 

-----Original Message-----
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jamal Mazrui
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 10:46 AM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; program-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: We are looking for Scripters to higher (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 16:37:43 -0400
From: Eric Damery <Edamery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: We are looking for Scripters to higher

Hi Jamal,

We are in search of potential script writers to higher, especially those
willng to relocate to St. Petersburg. If you could help spread the word, I'd
appreciate it. Interested parties should contact our HR department at
Freedom Scientific.

Regards,
Eric
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