RE: Results of the STC India 2011 Salary Survey

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

Paresh,

I read the report.
It seems well-done and straightforward.
I have a suggestion.

If you are going to bother to compare salaries in two 
very separate countries, then it would only make sense 
to also compare costs of living in both places. 

You've (no doubt) seen discussions among the American 
writers on this list, where they are always emphasizing 
that seemingly vast differences in salary from one city 
or state to another are usually offset by concomitant 
differences in cost of living at each locale. 

Nothing economic occurs in a vacuum. 

I can assure you, and the Indian readers of your report, 
that the vast majority of American technical writers are 
not living in palaces with legions of servants at their 
beck and call. At least, not the ones I know.
Most probably have their spouse working, in order to help 
cover their mortgage, and (in the northern States, as here 
in Canada), to pay for the extra fuel, clothing, and other 
costs associated with living where it snows. 

My employer is international, with offices in many 
countries, including India. Staff who visit from India 
quickly learn that the per-diem allowance is not as 
obscenely generous as they might have thought, upon 
first reading the amount, when they confront what 
it costs to buy lunch or dinner at a local restaurant, 
or to pay for the taxi that gets them there, and then 
back to their hotel. 

A movie at a local cinema costs $25 (or more) for two people, 
plus another fifteen or twenty dollars for consumables. 

As well, we Americans and Canadians tend to see nearly 
half our nominal incomes disappear in taxes, either 
before we get our paycheques (withheld at source by 
employers acting as agents of the tax man) or afterward 
when we pay for any good or service (value-added and 
sales taxes). 

Additionally, a considerable number of Americans are 
saddled with mortgages that exceed the current resale 
values of their homes. That's called being "under water".
Or if you are the bank, it's called a short sale (where 
the value to be recovered from sale of the asset falls 
short of the amount owing).


That's not to say that most of us don't have it 
pretty good in general, but perhaps not so much better 
as the naked, unexplained, out-of-context salary differences might imply.


Regards,

 - kevin  (just north of those Americans) 

PS: Those same visitors from our India offices, if they 
happen to make the trip in winter, soon learn that your 
concept of cold-weather attire is often not nearly 
warm enough nor (especially with regard to boots) sufficiently 
water-repellent. It's OK if you have a rental vehicle, 
or take taxis everywhere, but a thin coat and a pair 
of shoes are dismally lacking if you have to rely on 
public transportation.

Of course, if they visit in our summer they'll remark 
how blessedly cool and pleasant our weather is compared 
to summer or pre-monsoon back home. Ya win some, ya lose some. :-)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-
> l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-
> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Paresh Naik
> Sent: December-05-11 2:11 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Results of the STC India 2011 Salary Survey
> 
> Friends,
> 
> Results of the STC India 2011 Salary Survey of Indian Technical
> Communicators are published and are now available at:
> http://www.stc-india.org/wp-
> content/uploads/2011/12/STC_India_2011_Salary_Survey_Results.pdf
> 
> or
> 
>  http://www.stc-india.org/2011/12/stc-india-salary-survey-results-for-
> 2011/
> 
> 
> 
>  Key findings:
> 
> -       The median salary level of Indian Technical Communicators in
> 2011
> has increased by 1.3% compared to the same in 2010.
> 
> -       For a given experience level, the median salaries in Bangalore
> are
> the highest.
> 
> -       Indian median salary levels are about 24% of the U.S. median
> salary
> levels.
> 
> 
> 
> My sincere thanks to all those who responded to the survey. If you have
> any
> questions about the results, please contact me at
> pareshnaik -at- rediffmail -dot- com
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Paresh
> 
> On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 3:34 PM, Paresh Naik
> <paresh -dot- n -dot- naik -at- gmail -dot- com>wrote:
> 
> > Friends,
> >
> > The STC (Society for Technical Communication) India Chapter is
> pleased to
> > announce the Salary Survey of Indian Technical Communicators for the
> year
> > 2011.
> >
> > *  The survey is open to all technical communicators working in
> India. You
> > need not be a STC member to take the survey.
> >
> > *  Responses will remain completely anonymous.
> >
> > *  The online survey questionnaire has just 4 questions and it takes
> only
> > a couple of minutes to complete.
> >
> > *  The survey closes on  4th November 2011.
> >
> > * Results of the survey will be announced in the forthcoming 13th STC
> > India Annual Conference (Chennai, December 1,2,3 ) and will be
> published on
> > the STC India's website (www.stc-india.org) immediately after the
> > conference.
> >
> > Please spare a few minutes to participate and help us giving you a
> > comprehensive report.
> >
> > To participate in the survey, complete the questionnaire at
> > https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/STCIndia2011SalSurvey
> >
> >
> >
> > Please pass on this invitation to other technical communicators and
> groups
> > in your network.
> >
> > If you have any queries or problems, please contact me at
> > pareshnaik -at- rediffmail -dot- com
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Paresh Naik
> > Volunteer - STC India Chapter
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