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Subject:Re: Anyone need a job? Very badly? From:John Allred <jack -at- allrednet -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:43:22 -0600
William,
As one who does currently live in Arkansas, I can tell you that the
cost of living is, indeed, lower here than it is in other areas,
particularly Southern California. That said, even in Arkansas, $25/hour
doesn't go very far.
John Allred
On 1/23/2012 1:42 PM, William Gaffga wrote:
About a month ago or so I was contacted for a contract position at a nearby
biotech company (#1 in the world, circa 2006). They were looking for an
"experienced" tech writer, had a fairly extensive list of requirements, and
wanted to pay $25/hour. I could not contain myself and actually laughed
when the recruiter told me this. Now, this ain't someplace like Arkansas
with a low cost-of-living; this is Southern California.
I thanked the recruiter, told him that the wage was for a junior TW (or
someone exceedingly desperate) but that the skills requirement would be a
real impediment to finding a qualified applicant at that rate.
They, I believe, were hoping for someone who wanted the company name on
their resume, and indeed, I would be very happy to have it. Plus, the
commute of 10 minutes is 1/6th of what I do now, but for that rate ... I'd
be in the hole so fast ...
--
William Gaffga
[1]www.wilyguy.net/portfolio/
[2]http://www.linkedin.com/in/willgaffga
H: 805-492-0192
M: 805-405-6602
S: willgaffga
On Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 5:50 AM, Dan Goldstein
[3]<DGoldstein -at- riveraintech -dot- com>wrote:
According to [4]http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273042.htm, that hourly
wage is around the 20th percentile or so nationally for tech writers. I
scrolled down to the "Annual mean wage of technical writers by area, May
2010" map and saw that Tampa is in of the lowest-ranking zones. Also,
the ad says nothing about the required skills and experience. So I'm
guessing that for an entry-level tech writer in Tampa, that wouldn't be
a shocking wage.
-----Original Message-----
From: William Sherman
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2012 9:17 PM
To: [5]techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Anyone need a job? Very badly?
... I guess if you are desperate, it is better than working at
McDonald's. I would think these contract houses would become a bit
smarter and realize that the more they help us make, the more they make.
At this kind of pay, they have to get someone desperate who will quit at
the first chance of something better or someone with no experience who
will only make Adecco look bad.
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