position (???): Gdansk, Poland

[Malcolm Davidson <malcolm -at- ITNET -dot- PL>]

Dear tech writers,

I would like to meet people who might want to be tech writers (in
English, little or no Polish required) in the Gdansk area. Wait, I'm
not kidding! At last count there were 3947 of us on this list. If just
0.1 percent would like to work in Poland, that's me and three
others. Hell, it's worth a shot.

Anyway, I run a small department of technical writers at a
software shop in the Gdansk, Poland, area. Also, I know of
one or two other places in the area that do similar work. There
is *no* immediate opening that I know of, but I foresee one or
two positions opening before long...

Therefore, if you or anyone you know might want to be a tech
writer here, please let me know. I presume you would need
some time to think about such a move, which is why I'm asking
before there's even a sure position. I want to get you thinking
now.

------------------------
The Details:

The requirements of such a position are pretty predictable. A
superior candidate would be a native speaker of English,
someone with lots of experience in the technical writing field,
someone who is willing to work for beans and love it.

The reality, of course, is different.

What I would really want (but probably wouldn't get) in a candidate
for this position that doesn't really exist:
1. Native English or darned close to it. A Pole with great English
who wants to come back to Poland would be welcome.
2. Ability to edit (not write) user docs about wicked complicated
software.
3. Ability to use desktop publishing software such as FrameMaker
without becoming homicidal.
4. Desire to live in or near Gdansk, Poland, or the ability to pretend.

If you had this job, you would frequently ram your head into your
monitor. No, that's your current job I'm thinking about.

If you had *this* job, you would have to rapidly and accurately edit
computer-related text written in English by Polish engineers. Your
products would be user guides (printed and PDF), online
Windows-based help, and HTML-based web pages, all for an
audience that refuses to read.

Your tools would be common Windows-based desktop publishing
software (FrameMaker, MS Word, Acrobat Exchange and Distiller)
and RoboHelp or ForeHelp.

It would not be a temporary or part-time job. Your schedule would
be a pretty typical 9-5, 5 days a week, until you die, just like your
current job. Someone looking to "do Europe" and get paid for it
should not bother. Vacations in Poland are pretty long (you could
probably expect about 25 days the first year) but I don't think that's
"do Europe" time.

Pay? Pay depends on the candidate's abilities and experience.
Also, remember that this is Poland and you would be paid
on a Polish scale. That is, you would be paid well enough to
live well in Poland, but you wouldn't be paid like, for example,
an American living in the US. If we wanted to throw money like
that around, we'd move to the States, dammit, and I'd see you
at Starbucks.

But let me repeat, I'm looking for candidates for an opening
that doesn't exist yet, so I can't promise you anything. And I
needed someone to talk to.

Malcolm Davidson (malcolm -at- itnet -dot- pl)
Gdansk, Poland

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=