RE: Did I overreact?

["Diana Ost" <Diana -dot- Ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com>]

As an STC member, I have access to a salary survey for most areas of the
US and Canada. If you are an STC member, you can download the salary
survey any time. That, to me, is worth the membership fees every year.

This information is also available from the US government Department of
Labor in a more limited format. (They tend to lump all writing
occupations together.) All occupations are here:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco1002.htm. It takes some digging to find it :-)
I don't have time today to look it up, but I did find salary information
before in there somewhere. 

For my area, a contract for $22 an hour would be low, for a "no benefits
W2" position for someone with my experience (20 years + and management).
It would be a bit low for a beginning writer, but not by too much. My
last contract rate in Tampa was $38 an hour, but that's no benefits
except for W2, which means they paid my social security and deducted
taxes from my wages. I have made as much as $45 an hour contracting.

Keep in mind that rates are economy-driven and are based on what part of
the country you are in. Industry also matters; for example, a non-profit
would usually pay considerably less than a software company. About 5
years ago, the economy was so bad here that some companies were offering
$10 an hour for an experienced tech writer! Unemployment paid better :-)


Rates really do depend on a lot of factors, and some companies really
either have no idea what the pay should be (those are the ones that
equate tech writing with secretarial work) or they are low-balling on
the salary. I just pass on those.  

Diana Ost
Technical Writer/Reporting Analyst
Production Administration
Market Street Mortgage Corporation
diana -dot- ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com
Phone (727) 431-7209
Fax     (727) 724-9096
2650 McCormick Drive, Suite 200
Clearwater, Florida  33759
 
 
 
 

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-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of tom -dot- green -at- iwon -dot- com
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:34 PM
To: SKapoor -at- imf -dot- org; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Did I overreact?


You reacted the same as I have in the past. If it hurts their
feelings...so what? Sometimes the larger companies are bad about
undercutting pay scales.
They can get away with it because some people (for several
reasonas)accept that rate.



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