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Subject:Re: Need working-at-large advice (long) From:Jean Weber <jhweber -at- WHITSUNDAY -dot- NET -dot- AU> Date:Thu, 22 Apr 1999 15:18:08 +1000
At 12:06 PM 4/21/99 -0400, Kevin McLauchlan <KMcLauchlan -at- CHRYSALIS-ITS -dot- COM>
asked several questions about how one manages to contract and telecommute
REALLY remotely.
I am a dual-citizen American-Australian, with clients in both countries (I
live in Australia). I have bank accounts in both countries. I file tax
returns in both countries. Any US citizen thinking of working in another
country should get IRS Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and
Resident Aliens Abroad.
>What kind of projects are most amenable to this approach?
Anything that does not require you to meet people in person, or to play
with equipment you haven't got (such as large, heavy pieces of machinery),
or to use software you can't run on your own computer. Considering that
most "technical writer" jobs seem to include a large component of
face-to-face interviewing, you need to look for work where that isn't the
case. I've worked on a project where the people I worked for (the local
training team) were in Australia, but the programmers were in Israel, so I
had a copy of the software and some email addresses and that was it.
I find editing works out better than writing (though a lot of the editing I
do amounts to rewriting), because the expectations of others about my
interactions with the programmers is quite different (not necessarily any
more or less realistic, just different).
The biggest problem is the attitude of the people doing the hiring, who
usually are unable to cope with the concept of a remote teleworker, or who
don't want to make the adjustments necessary to make the arrangement work.
Therefore your best bet is to try to arrange a teleworking deal with
someone who already knows you and your work (and therefore your value) --
or getting those people to recommend you to others. I certainly don't blame
anyone who's nervous about hiring a worker they've never met.
For lots of handy hints, check out this URL (and other parts of the same site):
One thing I haven't checked out yet is the legal implications of working
remotely for a company in a country that I couldn't legally work in, in
person (because I don't have a work permit). Chris Despopoulos asked me
about that, and I don't know the answer. I presume it varies with the country.
