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.
>Nina wrote an excellent summary of how to work with agencies, what they can
>do for you, etc.
>
>I would like to take exception to one point. She wrote, "The biggest
>problem I've had is with recruiters trying to get me to accept jobs that
>pay well below the minimum I need to pay my bills or that involve my doing
>unskilled,
>unprofessional work (such as pure desktop publishing or even
>administrative-assitant work)."
>
>Excuse me, but pure desktop publishing and administrative-assistant work
>are both skilled, professional occupations. They may not rate the same wage
>as technical writing, but they qualify as careers!
I phrased that pretty badly, didn't I? :(
I apologize to you and also to any adminstrative or desktop publishing
people I might have offended. These types of work are indeed skilled
professional occupations. The other people who have responded in this
thread (Ed, Beth, and others) trying to explain what I meant were right on.
But still, I should have had the sense to word this more accurately in the
first place, perhaps saying: "lower-paying, non-writing work." I just
wasn't thinking.
Regards,
Nina P.
PS: It's true that technical writers get asked to do a lot of other stuff
besides technical writing, and like some people here I don't mind doing
those other kinds of work as long as I am also doing writing. What I do
mind, however, are agencies who have my resume with all this writing
experience clearly listed and still call me up to ask me to do a purely
administrative job or a purely graphics contract...at half my usual rate. I
suspect that these agency people know very well that they will sometimes
catch writers who, because of long unemployment, are in a vulnerable state
of mind or doubting their skills, and they will be able to talk some of
these folks into accepting a position for which they are far overqualified
for by preying on their fears of finding work in their chosen profession.
New writers, I believe, are particularly vulnerable to this, and they
haven't had past writing sucesses that tell them that yes, they can do this
work and that this work is readily available.
Nina Panzica
Masterpiece Media
(404) 237-7889
Can't reach me at the above number? Try my pager: 404-596-7889 mailto:panin -at- mindspring -dot- com http://www.mindspring.com/~panin/
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
