Re: Where is the ceiling in TW?

[John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Nolan...

I think the ceiling is detirmined by five factors:

1) Your skill
2) Your specialty
3) The geographical area
4) Supply and demand
5) Your nerve..do you have the nerve to ask for double what you are
making now?.

Each of these will contribute to how much you make.

> 1. If you don't want to relocate, but you also don't want to throw
> away all of your hard-earned experience, what would you personally)
> do to ensure your income increases? How would you continue to 
> "be a writer" and make more money than you're making now? What 

Go from FT to Contracting. You will double your income to a much
greater degree than your expenses. Just takes a little #5 (see above)

> type of work would you look for? In what industry?

Depends on your area. The areas with the greatest demand for writers
will pay the most for the writers. #3 and #4

I'd also look at the hot topics right now: Network security and
intrusion is a big one right now. So is e-commerce and B2B. Financial
companies (brokerage and banks) are paying pretty well. 

> 2. What is your personal perception of the financial "ceiling" in
> Technical Writing as a profession? Does one exist? If so, where 

I'm refering only to me...but right now, in the NY metro area, I'm
getting, as a contractor, $77/hr W-2. I've spoken to agencies,
alerting them that I will be taking a new position in March and that
I will be asking for over $80 per hour. Most haven't blinked. As a
solo writer without programming expereince, I may be close to my
limit, but I think there is still room to go...maybe to $90/hr. 

> is it? If not, where is the unlimited potential for millions 
> in this business? 

I don't know that anyone said you could make millions as a writer, at
least I don't think you are going to do millions by yourself.
However, turn it into a business, take a piece from maybe 20-30
writers, and I think you may be on your way. 

> 3. If you are a "non-techie" writer who wants to keep writing
> instead becoming a programmer, where do you focus your job 
> search? What fields and what job titles?

Programming and Techie don't have to rely on each other. Programmer
and programming does. Writing about technical issues and techie are
more related. As I said above, look for the hot areas...security,
b2b, XML, etc. I don't program, and I'm at almost $80/hr.


=====
John Posada, Senior Technical Writer
"How to be happy in life: Never impose your beliefs
on anyone else and never fry bacon in the nude."
 -- Anon
mailto:john -at- tdandw -dot- com, 732-259-2874

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