By Jerry Grohovsky
Copyright 2017. JPG & Associates, Inc.

There are several options for a technical communicator to be employed and gain experience in the tech. comm. profession. Obviously the most commonly known path into the profession is through direct employment. Another lesser known (and sometimes overlooked way) is via temporary or temp.-to-hire employment (aka–contracting). This is generally facilitated by being hired as a temporary employee of a staffing agency or consulting company. If new to this second option, one might ask: What are the PROS of working as a temp. (or contractor)? What are the CONS?

NOTE: The words “contracting” or “contractor” often have somewhat of a misleading and financial-binding connotation for those who are not familiar with temporary employment. However, this initial perception is completely misleading. Absent in today’s marketplace are fees or costs due from the candidate at this level of professional employment. Also, the candidate can freely exit a temporary employment arrangement “at will”, without any financial or legal obligations.

(In the comparison below, we will refer to temps and contractors as “consultants”, and contracting as “consulting”.)
PROS:

  • If you are a new grad, or you are currently working in another profession and you are considering a career shift into technical communication, then consulting is a convenient and effective way to break into the tech. comm. profession.
  • Being a consultant allows you to have the independence of choosing projects that interest you, as well as the ability to choose a variety of projects to broaden your experience.
  • As a consultant, you learn how to work independently very quickly.
  • When hired as a consultant, you are often the solo act, and must be able to it all–evaluate, plan, and manage a project from start to finish. This may involve “wearing multiple hats”–from budget purse-keeper, to content developer, to production person, cross-team negotiator, and so on. All of this responsibility may seem like a down-side, but at closer examination it is actually a “career accelerator” in providing you a wealth of knowledge and experience.
  • Because you are often exposed to very challenging and sometimes complex projects to unravel, your problem solving/analytical skills are put to the test sooner rather than later. Early development of these skills will be of great benefit to your career as you move forward.
  • Compensation for consulting generally pays very well on a per hour basis–and sometimes higher compared to a direct employee of the same experience and skill level (especially for those high-experience level independent contractors who have honed specific professional niches that can demand handsome hourly fees.)
  • Consulting allows you to try out different industries, technologies, companies, and corporate cultures, without having the long-term commitment associated with direct employment. This can help define later a technology and tech. comm. specialty that you feel best fits your comfort level.
  • With consulting you have the ability to move around the marketplace and observe the infrastructures of various tech. comm. departments. This allows you a birds-eye view of how each environment approaches the project development cycle—including content development tools, policies and procedures, unique methodologies, and so on.
  • By accepting a consulting opportunity you are more likely to be able to opt for a flexible work schedule, often with the option of working from home.
  • Being a consultant (versus a direct employee) can make it easier for you to “distance” yourself from the usual corporate politics and other internal trappings of a corporate culture.

CONS:

  • Consultants are often held to a much higher standard of productivity and accountability, versus full-time direct employees. When the client is billed for each hour of effort, it can put the consultant in a very visible position.
  • There is the added disadvantage of minimal or no training from the client company (although there can be exceptions).
  • With consulting there can be the risk of down-time between projects, that period of time between the end of one project and the beginning of another. This can sometimes be weeks or even months, depending on such factors as the economic climate and the demand level of a particular consultant. (NOTE: It is not surprising that more experienced tech. comm. professionals who have been consulting for many years tend to have much less down-time between assignments or projects than those who are more junior-level.)
  • There is also a perception of less stability with consulting, as consultants are sometimes laid off when there are budget cuts at a company (however, one might argue that a full-time, direct-hire permanent position is not guaranteed stability either).
  • Another disadvantage of consulting is that you often will not receive any (or minimal) benefits with your hourly compensation–unless of course you are of an independent consultant status (not working as an employee of an agency or staffing company), whereby you can often take advantage of various tax deductions as a corporation or LLC.
  • Finally, consultants are usually not included in corporate events, meetings, or able to reap the benefits of other company perks.