Re: Pulling it slightly OT: TW Salaries--Is it me, or are people greedier (Mild Vent)

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Sandy Harris wrote:

> 
> There are three things we all want out of work:
> 
>         payoffs: money, options, perqs, respect, authority, ...
> 
>         self-respect: feeling you're doing good work, it's an important
>            project, a useful product, socially responsible, ...
> 
>         reasonable load: not always 70-hour weeks, you won't die of
>            stress-related illnesses, ...
> 
> If you're really good at this, you can have any two of the above.
> No-one ever gets all three.
> 

(Strains of "The HMS Pinafore" strike up)

Me: What never?

Sandy: No, never!

Me: What, never?

Sandy: Well, hardly ever.

While knowing your limits is important, you can easily have all
three if you're a contractor . I certainly feel that I do.

Payoffs are easy. Contractors traditionally are paid more than
regular employees, yet in the courage job market they can keep
regularly employed. The more that companies pay, the more they
respect you, too. You get fewer direct perqs, but as a contractor,
you can generally arrange time off as you want.

Self-respect is also easy. As a contractor, you can pick and choose
your work. Fairly often, you're called in to clean up or to handle a
difficult situation. And, of course, it's amazing what you can bear
if you're working for yourself.

What is hard, I suspect, is to have a reasonable load. When you
start contracting, you may be feeling insecure enough about striking
out on your own that you feel that you have to take every job that
comes your way. As a result,you can easily over-book, and find
yourself working 70 hour week after 70 hour week. However, after a
couple of years, you should have enough confidence in your ability
to find work to relax a bit.

My experience with full time employment is less extensive, but I
still wonder whether you have to settle for two out of three. You
may simply have to look a bit harder than most people do.


-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"To conclude,I'll tell you news that's right:
Christmas was killed at Naseby fight,
Charity was slain at that same time,
Jack Tell-Troth, too, a friend of mine."
- Anonymous 17th Century, "The World Is Turned Upside Down"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver! (STC Discount.)
**NEW DATE/LOCATION!** January 16-17, 2001, New York, NY.
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.

Take XML and Tech Writing courses online!  Our instructor-led courses
(4-6 hrs/wk) give you "hands on" experience at your convenience. STC members
get 20% off!  http://www.online-learning.com/index.html.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.