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Subject:Re: Job Futures for Tech Writing From:Joan Masters <Joan -dot- Masters -at- ENG -dot- SUN -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 30 Nov 1994 13:15:36 +0800
I have two daughters and a son-in-law who contract. Two go through
a 'job shop' and one locates her own jobs (mostly through referrals).
Two sons also hold permanent positions in publications or training.
One daughter has been contracting for a number of years; the other
daughter began contracting last year when the company where she worked
was bought by an off-shore firm (her tech writing job and ~90 others
evaporated) and she has obtained her own contracts and worked steadily
ever since.
I have held both contractor and permanent tech writing positions
(permanent for the last eight years). There are advantages and
disadvantages to both types of work. A lot depends on one's skills,
technical knowledge, and marketing techniques.
jm
|From TECHWR-L -at- VM1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu Wed Nov 30 11:34 PST 1994
|Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 10:23:31 -0700
|Reply-To: Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>
|Sender: "Technical Writers List; for all Technical Communication issues"
<TECHWR-L -at- VM1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu>
|From: Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>
|Subject: Re: Job Futures for Tech Writing
|Comments: To: ej0 -at- NOTIS -dot- COM
|To: Multiple recipients of list TECHWR-L <TECHWR-L -at- OSUVM1 -dot- BITNET>
|Content-Type: text
|Content-Length: 1158
|
|On Tue, 29 Nov 1994 ej0 -at- NOTIS -dot- COM wrote:
|
|> I am in the process of investigating tech writing jobs, and I have had
several
|> people in the business state that the future (and near future at that)
of tech
|> writing is primarily in contract work.
|
|
|I've heard this also. I would be interested--and perhaps others would also
|be--in learning more about the experiences of those who are involved in
|contract work. Will it provide steady employment, i.e., can one be
|self-supportive or do you need a second income from some other source to
|make it? How do you obtain contracts? I know at least one writer is
|using an online resume to obtain contracts. What about others? Or other
|ways to get the word out? How much time do you spend marketing your
|skills? I'm sure there are numerous other questions that might apply, but
|these are starters.
|
|
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|
| RoMay Sitze rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu
|
| Practice makes perfect--or perfectly awful.
| It depends on what you practice.
|
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