Summary of why we do contract work

[Kate Folse <kfolse -at- MINDSPRING -dot- COM>]

Sorry for the duplicate post, but this one includes a subject...
-- kate


To all who answered my survey, thanks for your participation! To those who
wanted summaries, I apologize for taking so long to tally the responses and
distribute the results.

There was a total of 18 respondents.  Some chose not to answer, some
answered a question with multiple answers. Because this is hardly
scientific, I counted all answers and did some averaging where appropriate.   

The most apparent trend of the answers seems to be that contract technical
writers choose to do contract work because they have more flexibility,
control, and choice. Having that control does not necessarily limit
many benefits, training, or tools. Most people who were responsible
for providing their own tools or training did so knowing that they
were investing in themselves and that they were making their own choices
as opposed to having an employer decide for them. The most popular form
of training -- STC sponsored events, particularly the national conference.

The number next to an answer indicates how many votes an item received. 
In the areas where I asked for ranking, 1 is the most popular. Notable
quotables are in brackets. My comments are preceded by an asterisk.

1.  When securing a contract, which do you find produces the most
satisfying work? (Check one.)
Agencies - 5
Job shops - 0
Networking - 4
Self employed - 2
Word of mouth - 3
other (name) - sales letters - 1

2. What is average duration of your contracts?
* average of answers was 6 mos to a year.
shortest - 2 hours
longest 4 years

3. What kind of benefits do you have? (Check all that apply.)
Health - 9
Life - 8
Disability - 6
other (name) 
   vacation/holiday/jury/sick pay - 5
   pension/401k - 4
   dental - 3
   home business - 1
none - 5
some folks considered office furniture, freedom, location, and hours benefits. 
*?that must be *Really* nice office furniture?

4. Who provides the above benefits? (Check all that apply.)
Employer - 4
STC - 0
Spouse - 2
National Provider - 1
other (name)
   gov't - 2
   combo of above - 5
* some didn't answer b/c they don't have benefits.

5. Where do you do the bulk of contracted work?
At home - 8
Client site - 10

6. What about contracting gives you the most personal satisfaction?
(Check one.)
Determine own working schedule - 2
Freedom of time - 3
Increased money  - 5
other (name)
   all above - 3
   responsible for self, constant change, wide range of clients and
projects, avoiding layoffs

7. Typically how much time do you spend "between contracts?"
less than 1 month - 4
1 - 2 months - 3
none - 7

8. How do you usually spend your time between contracts? (Check one.)
Looking for new contract - 3
With family - 1
Vacation - 1
Seminars
Training - 1
combo of the above - 6

7. Have you ever been unwillingly unemployed? How long?
yes - 6
no - 12
longest: 9 months
shortest: 1 month

8. Who tends to pay most for any training/conferences? (Check one.)
Employer
Client - 3
Self - 12
I don't get any training or go to conferences - 1

9. If self, how much do you spend annually on training and conferences?
    What types of training/conferences do you attend?
avg: $1000; most go to annual STC and local STC meetings.
some go to local universities for classes/seminars.

10. How do you survive between contracts ?  (Check one.)
Spouse's earnings - 5
Savings - 13
Independently wealthy, I only work for fun - 0

11. If savings, how many months of savings do you keep?
The majority (10 people) keep anywhere from 2 to 6 months.
most - 1 year
least 2 weeks
* Most people said they know they should keep more than they do.

12. Which factors about contracting cause you the greatest amount of
stress. (Rate on scale of 1-5, 5 being the most highest.)

* 1 is most popular, 5 is least.
  1 Can't schedule enough time off between contracts 
  2 Lack of training  
  3 Can't get higher rate  
  4 Can't set own schedule 
  5 Lack of benefits 

13. Which factors influence your decision to accept a contract? (Rate on
scale of 1-5, 5 being the most important.)
* 1 is most popular, 5 is least.
  1 Commuting distance (tied with telecommute)
  1 Ability to telecommute
  2 Product that you will be documenting
   [actually the stability of the development effort. Do they know what they
are doing? Can the deliver what they agree to, when they say they will? Do
they understand the interrelationship between programmers and writers and
the need for mutual respect. I don't have time for programmers who play
status games with writers]
  3 Tools that you'll use to document 
   [needs to be something I can run on my home machine] 
  4 Dress code 
   [If they expect me to wear a dress, forget it!] 
   * I couldn't determine from the name if the respondent was male or
female; I    suppose it is appropriate either way? 
  5 Rate 
   [The rate I am offered tells me how serious the client views me/my work.]

13a. Which factors influence your decision to decline a contract? (Rate
on scale of 1-5, 5 being the most important.)
* 1 is most popular, 5 is least. 
  1 Commuting distance
   [I won't move, work on-site, or work full time]
  1 Ability to telecommute
  2 Rate 
  3 Tools that you may use to document 
  4 Product that you will be documenting  
  5 Dress code 
Other (name and rate)
 [performing my own tech support on my system and being the sole tech writer
for my clients.]
 [training opportunities]
 [...whether I think I am qualified to do the work. Often I don't feel I am,
for various reasons, and I tell the client why.]

14.  What types of assignments do you typically accept?  (Check all that
apply).
Rank of most to least popular (1 being highest) 
  1 Write/edit user's guides  
  2 Write/maintain Windows help 
  3 Write/edit other system documents
  3 Proposals/Newsletters/Annual Reports
  4 Web development 
  5 Write/edit hardware documents 
Other (name)
   training materials, presentations, 
*very few folks didn't or won't do any of the above.

15. What tools (type of computer and software) do you use to complete
your contract?
* in order of popularity
Anything the client wants - 10
Word  - 12
MSOffice - 8
FrameMaker - 7
RoboHELP - 5
Honorable mentions (those with less than 4 but more than 1) go to (in no
particular order): 
PageMaker, Visio, PaintShopPro, ForeHelp, doc2help, Interleaf.
Most popular operating System: Windows followed by 3 on Macs and 2 on Unix.

16.  Who typically provides you with hardware/software to do your job?
Self - 6
Client - 8
combination - 4 
Employer 
 
17.  In one sentence, can you summarize why you choose to do contract work. 
*Can't quote everyone, but here's a few who followed the one sentance 
request...

"It's more fun"

"It's never boring."

"I make more money."

"I much prefer being my own boss."

"I love being in control of my own life and work, and I love variety and
learning new things."

"Because we can do a better job, and get paid more as contractors than we
could as captives."

"I get bored easily; I want a variety of interesting work; I want as much
freedom as possible to determine when and how I work; I have an attitude." 

"It allows me to have control over the kinds of work I do, when I work and
allows me to spend more time with my family." 

"I like being responsible for myself."

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