Professionalism and pay

[Ned Bedinger]

Stansbury, Stan wrote:
> So far in this thread no one has mentioned the one factor that I think
> is crucial in understanding it: the consequences of poor performance.

Well, there was a recent discussion that mentioned the insurances an 
independent contractor must carry to get tech writing work, from gov't 
contractors or aviation manufacturers, if I remember correctly. We are 
seen as a link in the liability chain and must have insurance coverage 
to a pretty big number.

But anyway, professionalism may have some implied ability to avoid 
creating risks for an employer or client, but I mostly see myself as a 
professional line item in the budget. You spend what it costs to get me 
to do it, and I'll give you timely, managed, accountable work that is up 
to your standards. I'm a pro. I am risk averse, so you don't have to be.

What is unfortunate is that many tech writing scenarios are virtually 
designed to fail because they are treated as apart from the engineering, 
apart from the development cycle, marginalized among the afterthoughts 
that come at the tail end of a project. Picking up on Gene's advice that 
we eschew work where we're not ranked as professionals, I would advise 
shunning work that is not integrated into the project and designed for 
success. This is only slightly harder than turning down work you're not 
qualified for.