TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I have the same atmosphere on the east coast (near DC.) I decided to go
freelance in January because it was obvious to me that the prospects for
finding "full-time" jobs in tech writing were about to join the endangered
species list.
Let's face it, most people don't think you really need a tech writer till
the END of the software development process. When the economy was booming
and they were unsure if they'd be able to find one at just the right moment
to get the product to market, they'd sometimes go ahead and front the money
to hire a full time person and throw BS at them most of the time, until they
were really needed. The atmosphere has changed. Now they're confident they
can come up with the talent they need for a 1 - 3 month contract, just prior
to going to market.
We've been living in the wild, wild west scenario, now the industry is
maturing. Watch out for those growing pains!
-D
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-techwr-l-66511 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
> [mailto:bounce-techwr-l-66511 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Andrew
> Plato
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 1:53 PM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Tech Writer's Market
>
>
> I disagree with those that say the contractor market is
> declining. I think it
> is changing and it has a lot of traditional job shops clamoring for a few
> morsels. But the quantity of contract opportunities is still pretty good.
>
> Economic uncertainty is traditionally a good time for outsource providers.
> Companies are reducing head-count and using outsourcing as a way
> to control
> costs. One of the areas that is increasingly outsourced is tech
> docs. Which is
> good for me because that's what my company supplies. :-)
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
---
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.
