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I'm in a sort of strange set of circumstances in that the company I work
for is growing, and of course, along with it, so have my
responsibilities. I was originally hired as tech writer/tech trainer.
However, I wear many more hats than these two. I was originally focused
on writing first (according to salary.com median is 48k), training
second (according to salary.com median is 53k). For the last year the
focus has shifted to the reverse (salary hasn't though) . Now a third
responsibility has reared its head and pretty much taken over. You
could call it Project Manager, or Implementation Specialist, or Project
Liaison, or whatever you want (closest I could get on salary.com median
is 82k). This role basically entails me coordinating and overseeing the
implementation of our product. Depending on the client, implementations
take anywhere from three months to a year. So now I spend more time
doing that than training or writing. I'd say the ratio is probably
60/30/10 for project management/training/writing. I've got about nine
years experience as a tech writer, five as a tech trainer, and one as a
project manager (which I am pretty much making up as I go along).
So now I am looking for two things. First, my boss would like me to
become a "certified" project manager (so he can sell that to future
clients). I've been doing a little research and I don't think that is
going to happen anytime soon considering I have nowhere NEAR the number
of hours it takes to get certified through PMI, nor will I for a few
years. I'm not sure how to proceed with that one. Second, come raise
time, I've got no idea what to ask for. I'd like it to reflect how I
spend my time, although I'm not sure how to go about calculating
something fair. I'll have to shave it down anyway to make it palatable
for my boss. If anyone has any ideas about either of my dilemmas,
please contact me off-list. Thanks in advance.
Anita Lewis
Project Manager
Training & Customer Support
Three Rivers Systems, Inc.
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