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Re: Offshore writers and editors

Subject: Re: Offshore writers and editors
From: guy <guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 03 Nov 2003 12:02:17 -0800


Bonnie Granat wrote:

A writer/editor in India thinks I'm an employer and sends me his or her cover
letter and resume. In
the cover letter, I am told the following:



Note: Since I work out of India the rates per hour is low compared to the US.
You can save a lot. At the same time the quality is same as that of US editors
if not better.



I work for a software company in Silicon Valley. In the cube next to mine sits the team lead of our India tech writing team, split between Chennai (formerly Madras) and Pune. He will be here for several months, working on one project and learning more about the processes we follow in producing our documentation. His skills ARE better than those of your correspondent.

He says he has trouble keeping writers, and there are very very few people in India with the necessary English AND TW skills to do the work. The STC is active there, but there are no TW programs in their higher education system. The profession is still in its infancy there.

They do work for less money, and the Internet does keep them as close as your keyboard (except for their workday being almost exactly 12 hours out of phase with ours). Now, with the boom that offshoring is creating in India (so far), the middle class is growing and salaries are as well.

The company we work for began as a San Jose / India joint effort over five years ago. We set salaries back then, and because we are still in startup mode, we have had salaries frozen in both San Jose and India) for the last three-plus years. Now, our India offices are having trouble FINDING new hires because other technology companies are coming in and paying higher wages.

So, some of this cost difference will be eroding as the Indian standard of living increases. Then the offshoring will be moving to other, cheaper venues.

--
Guy K. Haas
guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com | gkhaas -at- usa -dot- net
http://swexegete.typepad.com/GuysBlog
Software Exegete in Silicon Valley


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Follow-Ups:

References:
Offshore writers and editors: From: Bonnie Granat

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