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Given a choice between employment and project work, I will take employment.
Ken, although project work may pay better, it is not consistent and usually
does not have perks.
On a related note, I saw this ad for a project where the company's clients
were upset with the current state of the company's documentation.
<snip>
Issues with current User documentation:
- Inconsistently organized so is difficult to find information
- written by a non-writer
- format maybe an issue
<snip>
Naturally, I put in a bid for the project to overhaul the company's
documentation. The company seems interested.
There is still a need for us after all!
=============================
Will Husa
Technical Writer
Will Husa Documentation Solutions
(M) 708.927.3569
Skype ID: william.husa
will -dot- husa -at- 4techwriter -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+will -dot- husa=4techwriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+will -dot- husa=4techwriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Ken Poshedly
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2016 11:46 AM
To: TECHWR-L Writing
Subject: "Age-old" question
As some of you may recall from my occasional vents, my current employment
situation is 7 1/2 years with a humongous, international, China-based
manufacturing company with its only U.S. office here in metro Atlanta.
Operations are performed as if they are right in China. They're absolutely
SUPER people to work _with_, but the corporate environment stinks. (Contact
me off-list for that.)
I'm now 66 and had planned to work here until age 71, but it's just not
getting any better here. Rock-bottom salary, no or miniscule pay raises (I
was told raises are not that common in China), being supervised by those
from the home office who have no idea what they are supposed to do and what
I do, etc. (I had to take this job after being out for three months in 2009
due to the recession in late 2008 and had no leverage with which to
negotiate even a bare-bones respectable salary.)
And with absolutely no telecommuting allowed (my daily round trip drive is
122 miles), something finally needs to change. So I've decided that it's
finally me. I'll be 67 at the end of next month and have had great job
interviews over the past 5 years for full-time tech writing positions closer
to home, but no takers (let's see. . . I'm over 60. Maybe that's it!). So in
November, I plan to draw Social Security AND seek contract work closer to
home (even with two kids in college.). I've manage to narrowly avoid several
would-have-been fatal collisions on Atlanta interstates (quite honestly,
perhaps, due to my quick reflexes developed years ago as a parking attendant
and even a taxicab driver in Cleveland, Ohio, while I was in college). But
now I look at every trip to and from work as me trying to avoid the unknown
driver with my name on his front bumper. So far, so good, but how long can
this last?
I keep trying for full-time permanent but it just ain't gonna happen. I did
two contract writing things before (one from late 2005 to mid-2007 and
another from mid-2007 through end of 2008, when the Great Recession kicked
in) and loved doing that. But I was not yet age 60.
So my question to those on this list who are around my age, what success
have you had in getting contract tech writing assignments, respectable pay
rates, etc., at your elevated age? Details please, and off-list comments are
fine.
-- Old Man Ken in Atlanta(but I still play drums!)
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