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>I guess I've been WAY out of the loop as far as the labor market's
>concerned. It must really be a jobseeker's market when it comes to Tech
>Writing. I've recently screened 2 candidates with **less than 3 years of
>experience in Tech Writing** who were asking $70K/yr (metropolitan
>Washington, D.C. area). And one of the candidates actually had several typos
>in her resume.
I ran into that last winter when I took a full-time job for the first
time after many years of contracting. I was offered one of those
startup-type "We need a writer... what kind of salary do you want?" I
contacted a local agency for a sample salary range and just about fell
out of my chair. The full-time salaries were comparable (benefit- and
tax-adjusted) to my contracting income, which was *very* new and
different. My first thought was "Boy, have I been undercharging for
contracting."
Anyway, the upshot is that yes, it's a jobseeker's market, and there's no
"greed" about it... it's basic supply and demand. If the market will pay
$20 for a widget, does it make business sense for you to charge $10? Not
usually. Rest assured your employer passes the cost along... (potentially
leading to inflation for all of us, but that's a different chapter in the
same story...)
If you're "more than a competent writer," use the current market to your
advantage... hit up your current boss for a raise to match the current
boom, or jobseek until you get what you want. That's the best way to
avoid bitterness, I think...
Good luck,
----->Mike
________________________________________________________________
stockman -at- jagunet -dot- com -- AOL and AOL Instant Messenger:MStockman
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