Re: Contractors have more experience? (Was "Entry level, again")

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

I beg to differ slightly with Bruce. There is no doubt that contracting
gives one a breadth of experience, but it does not necessarily
confer a depth of experience. There are also many variables
in play, such as length of contract, quality of supervision and
direction, use of tools, as well as an individual's capacity for
learning and improvement, that contribute to "experience".
The person who went from "entry level to potential partner
in 6 months" must have had a background that included
some business and management skills (or I'd be concerned
about the person evaluating him/her!). 40-year-old "entry" level
techwriters are going to be different from 20-year-old entry level
techwriters. The degree to which we can bring all of our skills
to bear on a project determines our true "level".

Bruce Byfield [bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM] wrote:
> My contention is that if, like me, you have had responsibility for
> priorities, content, review schedules,template design and other
> planning, and generally been the main consultant for
> documentation, then you are far beyond entry level.
> The more projects you have worked on, the stronger your claim is.
>
> By contrast, I consider an entry level writer one who has basic writing
> skills, and possible some tech-writing experience, but who
> is not expected to take any responsibility in their work.
>
> (That's why, by the way, I tend to favor people with long records of
> contracting when I'm looking for sub-contractors over people whose
> experience is of the same duration, but has been spent entirely in a
> permanent position. Contractors tend to be more experienced.
> My most recent sub-contractor went from entry level to a potential
> partner in six months. By contrast, I've seen another writer who
> has spent two years at one position but still hasn't' learned
> to write on-line and regularly posts unintentional howlers on her
> company's web page).


--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100  Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1        Fax: (905) 513-1419
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com    Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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