Re: Contractors of Questionable Ability and making the leap

Subject: Re: Contractors of Questionable Ability and making the leap
From: Jason Willebeek-LeMair <jlemair -at- ITEXCHSRV2 -dot- PHX -dot- MCD -dot- MOT -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 14:14:06 -0700

Dear anonymous,

Anonymous,

I feel for you. I was in the same boat for a while.

What I did was to bide my time (paid my dues), until another opportunity
opened up. It was not my dream job, but it paid slightly more (still
below area standard) and gave me an opportunity to expand my skills. I
suffered through that job, kept my eyes open, and finally landed my
"dream" position. I am now in a position that affords learning and
project management opportunities, and compensates me well.

The secret was simply not to wait for something to fall into your lap.
You have to create the opportunities. Keep on the lookout for job
openings. Use professional organizations (like the STC) to form
contacts with other technical writers. Submit resumes. Keep in touch.
And don't be afraid to take advantage of an opportunity that may not be
your ideal job. It just may give you the chance to accumulate the
experience and knowledge that you need to get into your ideal position.

Most of all, don't get discouraged. I doubt (and many posts to this
list support this feeling) that many of us here landed their ideal job
the first time around. Sometimes you have to try on a bunch of shoes
before you find a pair that is comfortable.

Jason
Been there, done that, now wearing a Happy Face t-shirt



> ----------
> From: Eric J. Ray
> Reply To: Eric J. Ray
> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 1998 1:53 PM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: FWD: Re: Contractors of Questionable Ability and making
> the leap
>
> Name withheld upon request. Please reply on list.
>
> *************************************************
>
>
> Sella Rush wrote:
> Personally, I do plan to contract in the future, but I just about keel
> over if I think of doing it now--there's so much I either have to
> learn
> or improve on. I consider myself in an apprenticeship right now
> (working captive)--three years to go--and there are very specific
> goals
> I've set for myself before I bump myself up. Plenty of people
> would--and have!--told me I'm missing the bandwagon, tiptoeing too
> much,
> etc., but at least I know I'll have a fighting chance of doing a great
> job when I do start.
>
> How do others see their transition from captive to contract?
> ---------------
> I feel like I'm in a similar situation. I graduated last spring and
> have been
> working in the same TW position since then. Of course, I am
> interested in what
> else is "out there," and wondering when I'm going to be one of the
> seasoned who
> can pick and choose among high-paying positions. I enjoy what I do,
> have
> learned RoboHELP, and see opportunities to lead small projects here,
> but am not
> sure that I can move up in my current company without going into
> management...
> a move I see as leading away from technical writing.
>
> Of course, the almighty dollar comes in. The money here is, frankly,
> well
> below average for the region, and there is required overtime. If I
> bite the
> bullet and stay here, I'm indenturing myself at pizza-delivery wages
> for the
> privilege of gaining experience in my field.
>
> Ultimately, my goal is also to work on a contract basis, but when I
> see
> positions everywhere requiring 3 to 5 years of experience, that's my
> reality
> check. I'm not even qualified to change jobs, much less go into
> independent
> contracting! Meanwhile, I'm letting the small staff of TWers here
> know where
> my interests lie-- in leading small TW projects-- and taking any
> available
> opportunity to increase my knowledge base in DTP applications,
> web-based markup
> and programming languages, and the mechanics of technical writing.
>
> I'd be very interested in discussing this with anyone else off-list
> who's in
> the same boat, or has been.
>
> ~~
> Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
> TECHWR-L)
> Search archives at:
> http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
>
>




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