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I'd agree with Gene, in that there are many more jobs now than before, and
the prospects are getting better. However, the telecommute options vary,
depending on who you are, what kind of writing you do, and where you want to
work.
Hardware writer: Forget it. You have to be on-site.
Software writer: About 10-20% of companies are really open to telecommuting
(which is sad, given the state of our traffic around here). The rest want
the all-important "face time." Most relax after they see you working and
productive after about 6 months of the daily commute grind. It helps if the
rest of the software development has already been offshored to India, so
they're used to working with remote workers.
Internal process docs: Again, forget it. How can you document the internal
workings of the company if you're not there?
For contractors, I've found it's pretty bad. Most want your butt in their
chair every day, for reasons I cannot fathom. If you're the kind of
contractor who rigorously defends his boundaries of 1099-status, then it's
easier to explain why you work in your own office, not theirs. You must,
however, be willing to come to the campus for on-site meetings.
It helps if you live 40 minutes away from the company, as they are less
understanding if you're only a 5 minute drive away (which is absurd--
nothing is a 5 minute drive.)
Big companies like Google don't permit telecommuting. It's odd-- you would
expect them to "get it," but I suppose they're a combination old-skool
dot-com and think tank now, so they want people on site.
--Stephanie
On 6/26/07, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
>
> So based solely
> on my personal experience I'd have to say the landscape up
> there is pretty good. But that's just one data point.
>
--
Stephanie Bryant
Author, Videoblogging for Dummies
mortaine -at- gmail -dot- com http://www.mortaine.com/
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