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Julie Pitt wrote:
> 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 just received an offer today for my first *official*
tech writing job (I've written a number of technical
documents while holding other positions). The biggest
surprise was that the offer was for exactly the amount
I had requested. I know, I know, the first person to
state a number loses, but actually, I thought my
request would simply be a starting point for
negotiations. I had no idea they would actually give
me that much!
Do I wish now that I had asked for more? Of course!
But I still think the offer was fair. I may have
managed to hit exactly the salary point that they had
in mind, too. Also, my schedule may be flexible enough
to allow me to take daytime classes at the local
university, which is very valuable to me (I'm working
on a TW certificate - nice of them not to offer the
classes at night this term, eh?).
I guess this is a long way of saying that there are
still some of us job seekers out there who consider
things other than money, and who consider carefully
what we think we're actually worth to a particular
employer in our market.
Then again, according to online salary calculators, if
I were living in Northern Virginia again, I'd need to
make as much as 100% more than I will here to afford
the same lifestyle (depending on the cities compared).
If I moved back today (which I had considered),I'd be
asking for a lot more than I'd ever ask for in this
market at this point in my career!
I suppose the real issue is whether an employer thinks
that the candidates you mentioned are worth $70K in
that market. I did hear of one friend-of-a-friend
making $60K in his first tech writing job in the DC
area, although I don't know his tech background or
other qualifications.
I'd guess that either salaries in the DC market are
much higher than you expected, or these folks have no
idea what their skills are really worth, and they're
trying to get as much as they can. Not sure I'd pay
$70K to any writer who couldn't proofread his or her
own resume, though.
Meg Ehr
Lurker hoping to add value...
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