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Subject:Re: Asking for opinions about this job From:David Castro <thejavaguy -at- gmail -dot- com> To:aurora -at- identicloak -dot- com Date:Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:00:54 -0500
On 1/11/06, A <aurora -at- identicloak -dot- com> wrote:
>
> You are being treated as a slave. Your situation is extremely atypical
> and extremely poor. I would get out ASAP.
I disagree. The poster's situation actually sounds appealing, to me,
based on what he/she is documenting. I *love* writing for software
engineers, and really miss it. I also like having lots of different
things going on all at the same time. I hate working on the same
document for months and months. That's probably why I have tended
toward startups (which, in turn, has led me to three layoffs within
the first ten years of my career...but I digress).
What I would like to know from the original poster, is how many hours
of overtime do you work in a given month? And are you paid for the
overtime? I am currently getting paid for my overtime (one nice facet
of working as a government contractor). I would love to have too much
to do, as it would enable me to feather my nest nicely.
If you are working overtime every week to make things work, then stop.
Or at least severely curtail it. Set a limit for what you're willing
to work in a week. If everyone around there does 45-50 hours weeks,
then make sure you're not working less than 45, but make sure you're
not working more than 50.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to flex your management
muscles. As was recommended in another reply, start managing your
projects. You know how much time you have available...start sharing
that when new requests come in. If someone wants to cut in line, tell
them that they need to go and speak with the people in front of whom
they are cutting, and approve it with them. People will likely get
frustrated, and will be more amenable to hiring additional writers.
Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!
-David Castro
thejavaguy -at- gmail -dot- com
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