TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
>>Quote your customary rates for all of your time, irrespective of the
nature of the work.
This is how I do it. I have found that the job titles Tester, Business
Analyst, Functional Analyst, Requirements Engineer, Technical Writer and
other titles often mean we do essentially the same work. I therefore wear a
title appropriate to the client's need, and charge em all $65/hr regardless
of what they want done.
This does mean that you have to have a wider set of skills and experiences -
that you actually can do the role the employer understands the title to
represent - but after you float around IT environments for a while you find
that you become a pretty adept generalist.
After that you can wear many hats, but since the work is so similar a single
rate is a fair compensation no matter what hat you wear that day.
This, by the way, is kinda sorta what folks describe when they attempt to
nail down the phrase "knowledge worker".
Everyone's experience may vary - I see many companies who use entry-level
resources (paid in peanuts) for testers, but pay tech writers 20% more, and
have seen the reverse. The real deal is that most companies DO NOT KNOW what
they really need and you have to tell them.
In this market you have to make a case for value - show them why they'll
profit for paying you well to do whatever needs doing.
Good luck,
Ed
>Does anyone know how rates for tech writing compare to rates for doing
>QA? I'm looking at a project that will be about half creating
>docuentation and about half QA & testing and I'm wondering about how to
>charge for it.
>
Check out the new release of RoboDemo, our easy-to-use tutorial software.
Plus, buy RoboHelp Office in August and save $100 with our mail-in rebate.
Get details and download free trial versions at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
