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Subject:Another pespective on low wages From:Reynolds Paula MTIA <Paula -dot- Reynolds -at- MT -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 30 Jun 1998 11:56:50 -0400
Folks have been discussing how techwriters accepting low wages are a
detriment to the good of the group (paraphrased a bit).
Well, y'know what? I was one of those dastardly writers who started at
$10 an hour. I wanted to move to a specific geographic location, I
needed health insurance for a surgery, and I took the first job that
satisfied those two requirements. Quite frankly, I wasn't looking at
the good of my profession...I was looking at my needs.
And now, 5 years later, I make a decent salary with the same company.
Sometimes it was given to me, sometimes I asked for it. Yes, I could
command more in a different city, but it's not worth it to me. I make
enough money. Would I like to make $60,000 a year? Sure. Will I spend
all my time striving for that? No.
I think keeping perspective about why people accept jobs is a good idea.
And for the folks who wrote that McDonald's is starting kids at
$9/hr...that's great. That's certainly not the case around here.
