RE: Re: Did I overreact?

Subject: RE: Re: Did I overreact?
From: "Diana Ost" <Diana -dot- Ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 09:00:45 -0400

To Anonymous Poster:

I took one of those $24 hr contracts a few years ago, when I was out of
work and the job market was terrible here. It turned out to be a place I
loved with a great boss. I was sorry when the contract ended, and I made
quite a few friends there that I still see from time to time.

My usual rate on a contract for tech writing is about $38- $42 an hour,
and for business analyst work or testing, around $45 to $65, at least in
this area.

I wouldn't worry about it. Something good will come of the job, even it
just means you can keep current on your bills. For us, we ended up
downsizing a lot of things, like extra cable channels, bells and
whistles on the phone service, and re-negotiated our broadband internet
connection from $49 a month to $25 (we got the new customer rates). We
haven't gone back to all those things, even though my husband and I are
making a little more money. It was good to reevaluate all those things,
and our lifestyle.

Good luck with the job!


Diana Ost
Technical Writer/Reporting Analyst
Production Administration
Market Street Mortgage Corporation
diana -dot- ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com
Phone (727) 431-7209
Fax (727) 724-9096
2650 McCormick Drive, Suite 200
Clearwater, Florida 33759





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-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Anonymous Poster
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 1:49 PM
To: techwhirlers
Subject: Fw: Re: Did I overreact?

This message was forwarded anonymously on request. If you want the
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've been lurking on this thread for a few days and I have to respond.
I'm not proud to say I just agreed to one of those $24 hr contracts.
I've been sitting on the sidelines trying to find work for the past 3
months, seeing occasional contracts ranging from the low $30s to low
$40s come and go. Generally my resume would be submitted by some
recruiter or another and that would be the end of it, no response.
Sometimes I'd hear back from a recruiter that the opening was cancelled.

I was contacted by one recruiter a few weeks ago about an opening at one
of those "billion dollar" companies, only to find out they were only
offering $20 hr. I politely declined, still holding out hope that I
could do better. A few weeks later she called back with another opening
at the same company and said she'd spoken to he boss and they could
squeeze it up to $22 hr. At this point I'm getting worried how I'm going
to make my rent payment for July and I agreed to be submitted. Shortly
thereafter another recruiter contacted me about an opening at another
company for $24 and of course at that point I agreed to let them submit
me. Within a day I interviewed and was hired for that position. BTW,
these are rates that are W2 with benefits, including PTO. They offered
rates as a straight subcontractor, but the difference was so small I was
better to just take the lower hourly rate for the PTO and to not have to
worry about self-employment tax.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have a contract. I'm just annoyed with
myself for lowering my standards to take a rate significantly lower than
anything I've worked for as a contractor. I did try asking for a higher
rate, but I was stone-walled. This reminds me of my first TW position as
a full-time employee several years ago where I was hired at an
embarrassingly low rate. After 3 months my manager called me in and with
a huge grin told me he was giving me a 25 cent an hour raise.
He honestly expected me to be excited about it. I put on a plastic smile
and went on, shaking my head after I left his office.

Believe me, if I wasn't in the position I'm in financially I wouldn't
consider this sort of rate. I didn't go into contracting to work for a
rate that's below the median salary for FTEs in this area. I'm just
hoping I can successfully avoid letting my resentment affect the quality
of my work. It's a 6 month contract and the recruiter says they expect
it to be extended, but I'll certainly be looking for other opportunities
when the time comes.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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