-----Original Message-----
From: Javilk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Much of the "Requires ten years of expert knowledge in C++, Java, Perl,
>> PhotoShop, etc." is just hot air. Anyone who is an expert at Java
>> programming is getting $150-250/hr and has all they work they can handle.
>> The companies are just hoping that a total idiot will apply.
>
> Huh??? How come I don't get numbers like that? Most of the agents say,
>well $60 - $60 and maybe let me work up to $70. (I've been programming
>since 1969, and webbing since 1995.) I've never heard numbers like that!
Hey, I really know web dudes who make those numbers.
Maybe we should do a round of "Here are my skills, what I do, and how much I
get." Part of the art of HTML is getting paid for it. Too many times, some
people get into jobs that are severely underpaid.
Last year, on a technical writer's list (I'm also the co-chair for the NWU's
technical writer trade group in Silicon Valley), I collected descriptions
from people and then published the whole thing to the list. It worked really
well. It's a great way to see what others have for skills and what one can
earn. It's damned good when you go into an interview, to know what to ask
for. The managers and recruiters have a overall view, but contractors and
workers don't.
Write a short two-line description of ...
Job Title:
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
Necessary Skills:
Years of Experience:
Salary (Hourly or Yearly):
Your City:
and email it directly to me ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and I'll strip out
personal information (your name, email, etc.) and publish the whole thing to
the list.
If you're all interested, I can post the descriptions for Silicon Valley
technical writers. It's from Spring 1997, but mostly still valid. Say yes,
and I'll post it.
Below is an excerpt from the tech writer job comparison.
___________________________________________________
Andreas Ramos [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.andreas.com
========================
Job Title: Technical Writer
Brief Description of Responsibilities: Writing manuals and collateral for a
family of isdn/ip routers, including online (www-based) releases necessary
skills: framemaker, all sorts of graphics applications, html and pdf
conversion and production, printing and production issues, pagemaker and
quark (for occasional work)
Years of Experience: 7
Salary, Hourly or Yearly: 46k+options+benefits (I'd charge $40-50/hour for
this work as contractor, which may happen soon enough!)
========================
Job Title: Consultant
Necessary Skills: Framemaker, understanding of object-oriented programming
and C++, ability to deal with pro-gramming concepts
Years of Experience: 18 years
Salary: $80/hr
========================
Job Title: Tech Writer
Brief Description of Responsibilities: Write UNIX System Administrator
manuals, on my own with miniscule super-vision.
Necessary Skills: Framemaker, user-level knowledge of UNIX, no programming.
Years of Experience: 16
Salary, Hourly or Yearly: $66/hour
========================
I charge $45 hr. I will charge more on my next job be-cause I was allowing
myself to operate on the assumption that I'm an intermediate and not senior
writer. I think my peers are wrong because I've not only had to write from
scratch but do system administration on my present as-signment.
========================
Job Title: contract tech writer
Brief Description of Responsibilities: The usual: design, illustrate, write
hardcopy manauls; write context-sensitive online help that is built into the
application; put manuals on the Web
Years of Experience: 12+
Salary, Hourly or Yearly: $55/hr
========================
Job Title:Technical Writer
Brief Description of Responsibilities:Preparation of speci-fications and
instruction manuals for for electronic equipment.
Necessary Skills: Framemaker, Word, Adobe Illustra-tor,Visio, knowledge of
electronic schematics, theory of operation, electronic principles of the
equipment, and software theory
Years of Experience:25
Salary, Hourly or Yearly:80/hr
========================
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