I've always let people pay me less than I'm worth. I was recently given a raise, but it only came after I sat my supervisor down and told him I'd quit if they didn't promote me and pay me more. Despite 12% in pay increases this last four months, I'm STILL $6K a year under market value. I've decided to start looking for another job. I don't think I can dig myself out of this monetary hole--they've got me by the numbers, literally. Once you get behind your pay, it's hard to get back on your feet without a radical change.
Because I want to get the right salary this time around, I've done some research to figure out what I'm worth to the market. Here's some of my mistakes, experiences, and numbers to go with both.
MY TIME AS AN INTRO WRITER, AND WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN
When I first started technical writing (six years ago), I came to the market with no knowledge of what I should ask, and I was seriously taken advantage of. I was paid $17/hour by a contract house, but as a intro contract technical writer in my area (the medical device industry), I should have gotten $25-$30/hour. I was fresh out of college and didn't know my earning potential. After getting $9/hour at the movie store, $17/hour sounded great... until I realized how much the guy next to me was making, with less-relevant educational background. Because I've been around for a while, I know that six years ago, most of the contract houses in my area got $50/hour for an intro writer--that was a negotiated rate. Keep this number in mind if you're negotiating for a contract with a technical writing house.
When I was hired-on full time to my company, I started at $40K a year. This was a reasonable salary, but I probably should have tried for $45K a year. The next mistake I made was not pushing for a promotion sooner, but that's another story.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I ASK FOR AS AN INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED LEVEL WRITER?
I have six years of experience under my belt, a science background from a top-notch college, and a ton of project management experience. I'm in a different league. My job description has me at a Level II Technical Writer. If I were to apply as that, the median is about $57K a year, and the 75th percentile is at around $64K. However, I do work that requires a specialized knowledge--it's some of the most complicated technical writing out there. If I stay in this area, and apply for Level III jobs, which I think is fair, the median salary is $68K.
Here's my problem: because I'm getting paid below market value right now, if I walk into another HR office and tell them how much I'm getting, they'll try to pay me below market value again. My thought, then, is to work with a contract house for a while, and try to wipe the record clean. I had some trouble finding out how much I should ask if I'm working for a contract house. And remember, this is where I got screwed the first time.
Freelancers with my level of experience ask between $50-$80/hour (the median seems closer to $70), but (to me) this seems different than working through a contract house, as the contract house theoretically does a lot of footwork finding you a job. Because I wasn't certain, I located a writing contract house in a different city with a similar pay-range, posed as a company looking for someone with my level of experience, and asked for a quote. Ethical? Well, they're going to try and underbid me, and what's ethical about that? They said I would cost $85-$95 an hour. That, then, gives me a real number to work with. I think my rate should be $50/hour (if they're getting me work), and starting negotiations at $65/hour seems appropriate.
This information is based off my own casual research and isn't meant to be a definitive guide--feel free to leave comments if you think I'm off, or I'm missing some information.
SOME HANDY LINKS I USED IN MY SEARCH
I can't seem to retrace all the articles I originally took notes from--if anyone has a page to add, email me or throw the link in the comments.
- - Monster's Salary Search
- - The Society For Technical Communicators (membership required, however you get access to their annual salary survey)
- - Peter Kent's Article: Making Money In Technical Writing (outdated, but helpful)
- - Writing Assistance's FAQ Page
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