Post #69,433
12/17/02 5:44:08 PM
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Seems what I said earlie...
Is starting to show...
[link|http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021209S0003|Contract and Linux jobs sharply up]
[link|mailto:curley95@attbi.com|greg] - Grand-Master Artist in IT
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!!!]
Your friendly Geheime Staatspolizei reminds:
[link|http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,56742,00.html|Wi-Fi enabled device use] comes with an all inclusive
free trip to the (county)Photographer!
Overbooking, is a problem, please be prepared for "room-ies".
Why You ask? Here is the answer to your query:
SELECT * FROM politicians WHERE iq > 40 OR \\
WHERE ego < 1048575;
0 rows found
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Post #69,451
12/17/02 6:30:02 PM
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Unfortunately
They are looking for contractors offshore first.
I am out of the country for the duration of the Bush administration.
Please leave a message and I'll get back to you when democracy returns.
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Post #70,939
12/26/02 2:45:21 PM
12/26/02 2:48:44 PM
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Technical Writer?
Unfortuntely they are looking for contractors offshore first.
A depressing article I found:
[link|http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/labor/story/0,10801,74719,00.html|http://www.computerw...801,74719,00.html]
Techie careers are headed the way that factory work has. The only remaining jobs will be in the 3 M's: Management, Marketing, and McDonalds.
I am kicking around the idea of becoming a technical writer (users manuals, etc.) I figure I have a leg up on East Indians: their grammer is usually poorer than mine. (No comments on spelling please.) Plus, I don't know how I will weather the continued OO-ification of everything (until the fad dies when people realize it is only a mindfit thing instead of universal benefit).
Does anybody have any tips for breaking into tech writing?
________________
oop.ismad.com
Edited by tablizer
Dec. 26, 2002, 02:48:44 PM EST
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Post #70,940
12/26/02 2:52:49 PM
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thats what cwbrenn does
will work for cash and other incentives [link|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/boxley/resume/Resume.html|skill set]
You think that you can trust the government to look after your rights? ask an Indian
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Post #73,584
1/9/03 2:43:44 AM
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Does anybody have any tips for breaking into tech writing?
Run away. Run away fast.
Run more.
Keep going.
Well, I have seen a few openings for entry-level.
Nothing for the likes of me, my skills are expensive and dangerous (in most cases, I'd qualify as that person's boss) to the people doing the hiring. "You'd be bored here" is my current replacement for "let's be friends".
Hell, you'd be better off trying to go for "web designer."
As for once you get the job, it doesn't pay very well, you are the bottom of the food chain, nobody outside your group thinks you have any special skills - anybody can write, when you get a project it's already behind schedule but you are on the critical path so when it isn't ready to go out the door it's on your desk. And you have to work with tech writers, often the worst kind of geek. But it is writing for a living. And with the right team, it can be great.
When the economy recovers, I may well go back to it. Did it for 10 years, enjoyed it most of the time.
----
Whatever
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Post #73,806
1/9/03 9:15:13 PM
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Re: tips for breaking into tech writing?
In better times, there are tech writer positions that do pay fairly well. However, I'd only recommend doing it as a part time contract gig in the current market.
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Post #73,833
1/10/03 1:30:11 AM
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Actualy, that's part of my problem.
Nobody wants to hire me for less than what I was making before. And nobody can afford what I was making before.
Time to revisit my network, see if I can shake a little freelance work out of the tree.
----
Whatever
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Post #69,684
12/18/02 3:24:38 PM
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Good sign
At least it means that some IT projects are being funded.
Typical recovery means that the company hires contract programmers first, because the big HR department hasn't unfrozen hiring yet. Also, contract allows the company to get a view of their work habits/relationship/work quality before making a "permanent" decision.
Then, once you find a few good workers, you hire them as soon as the HR department allows it. If you find an especially good worker with the right skill set, a VP will justify an override to the HR department anyway.
Finally, as the company realizes they are spending too much on contractors, they'll start hiring direct.
At least that's the way it used to be. Many large companies (EDS, SABRE, IBM) are using 3-6 month contracts as THE way to hire new technical employees. With a 3-6 month contract, the company can quickly get rid of malcontents, lazies, tardies, misfits, and other people with a lot of personal problems that impact their work performance. They make job offers to hard-working productive people.
So, I wonder if the increase in contractor activity is actually a back-door to an increase in hiring in 3-6 months? Still, you may have to go through the contract, first.
Glen Austin
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