Technical Writing on Contract
Employee or Contractor?
This subject comes up often among technical writers, whether they prefer to work for a company as an employee, with benefits and some guarantee of continued employment, or whether they like working as an independent contractor on a per-project basis, with no company benefits and a finite time with the company.
Independent Contracting
Those who choose to work as a contractor enjoy the independence that contracting offers. As a contractor, the technical writer may work for the same company for years, or they may work for only two or three months. When the contract is fulfilled, the writer is free to negotiate new contracts with other companies or with the same company, or to take some time off.
Contracting can be confusing to someone who has never done it and who doesn’t know anyone who has. The technical writer who works on contract is hired by a company on a per-project basis, usually at an hourly rate, but sometimes on a flat fee for the project. A contract or letter of agreement describing these terms is agreed upon by both the writer and the company.