Re: Tech writers' salaries

["I started out with nothing. I still have most of it left." <sharona -at- INTRANET -dot- COM>]

I can tell you that for senior writers in the Boston area, most places
seem to be paying over 50K.  How much over depends on a lot of factors.

>I'm not unwilling to pay this, however, it seems like tech writers are
>pulling the Mazda Miatta gig -- sell at whatever the buyer will pay. And
>pay they will right now -- I've discovered that tech writer openings are a
>dime a dozen.

I sense in the "Mazda Miata" comment a bit of resentment that tech writers
are holding out for as much money as they can get.  And why shouldn't they?
I didn't hear managers complaining when there was a glut on the Boston
market a few years back and all my offers were shamefully low because of it.
Also, because tech writers are sometimes not respected and may even have a
low opinion of themselves and their work, charging what the market will
bear shows a healthy self-view, IMNSHO.

Finally, selling your talents to the highest bidder is capitalism, and we
live in a capitalist country in the U.S.  I for one certainly don't have
a problem with that.

Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now.  But I tire of hearing about companies
who wouldn't blink to pay an off-the-scale salary to a talented
programmer or engineer in a hot market but think that a technical writer
is not worth the same consideration.  I know both sides as a senior
tech writer and as the wife of a firmware engineer.

Sharona Nelson
sharona -at- intranet -dot- com