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Man, work has been nuts the past few days. Lately I've been focusing my attention entirely on responding to RFPs, writing proposals and doing contract crapola here, and the catch is that this kind of work is feast-or-famine. Some days it's bland as shit, others I'm fighting just to stay alive. Anyway, I spent most of today engaged in some long conversations with the VP of Mile Hi and the HR Director, trying to spell out why I've been frustrated here and what I would like to have happen. I'm not sure how much an impression I made, but I was given a few more answers about what I can look forward to here. Half-answers, really. A lot of "it's going to take more time," and "nobody's really figured it out, yet." Being righteously indignant is so much easier when it's a rant, not a conversation. But I made my case, and I tried to come out as clean as possible. Which, in the parlance of our times, translates to "I pussied out."
Anyway, when that was over I spent the rest of my time playing catch-up. I was preoccupied the last few weeks with a proposal for a property in San Diego and a renegotiation at our Tucson property. Shit. Storm. And in the past few months, the training program that I was originally hired on for has laxed, so today was all about getting back up to speed: a flurry of printing, form letters, signing, shipping, and copy-pasting e-mails. And paper jams. Fuck paper jams. The point is that I really hate doing this processing, administrative shit, and I'd rather switch over full-time to the proposal work. A lot more neads to happen to make this happen. I want autonomy, flexibility... let's face it, I want to be important. I think writing this way is becoming my niche. And I'd like to think that I'm in it for the long haul, but frankly I don't know how patient I really can be.
Lately I've been thinking of ways to parlay this into a full-time career of my own. Going into business for myself. Writing for business, or tech writing is really starting to appeal to me, and I'm looking for opportunities to master it, or at least improve my skills. Seminars or some other kind of training in proposal-writing would be the absolute minimum. But more than likely, this means a graduate degree or at the very least a certificate in Technical Communication. The University of Colorado Denver offers both; I could foreseeably complete a graduate certificate in TechComm one year from this autumn. Doing it so quickly would limit my options in terms of electives and specializing, though. And, of course, the money, as they say, just isn't there. It's the definitive catch-22: most jobs in Tech Writing or proposal writing that I've seen pay a lot better than what I'm getting right now. In order to be a legitimate candidate for these positions (and/or otherwise increase my earning power), I need the formal training, but I can't afford the formal training at my current earning power, at least not without another loan and even more debt.
Anyway, the other day Tin and I walked past an empty little office studio and I thought, "damn, it'd be cool to have that as my own office." Work on contract, freelance, write proposals or manuals and whatnot for whichever company needed it. Maybe eventually partner with other writers to take on bigger loads, increase our negotiating power, and so on. Just look at this guy: a nationwide corporation built entirely on teaching people how to write proposals and make presentations. Of course, the proposal process is usually internalized, to protect trade secrets. But still, mastering the field, working on a consulting basis, sounds pretty awesome. And a long way down the line, for that matter. I need a lot more experience, and a lot more training in the field, while I'm at it. Maybe it is just daydreaming, but still, finding a way to make it happen...
Anyway, when that was over I spent the rest of my time playing catch-up. I was preoccupied the last few weeks with a proposal for a property in San Diego and a renegotiation at our Tucson property. Shit. Storm. And in the past few months, the training program that I was originally hired on for has laxed, so today was all about getting back up to speed: a flurry of printing, form letters, signing, shipping, and copy-pasting e-mails. And paper jams. Fuck paper jams. The point is that I really hate doing this processing, administrative shit, and I'd rather switch over full-time to the proposal work. A lot more neads to happen to make this happen. I want autonomy, flexibility... let's face it, I want to be important. I think writing this way is becoming my niche. And I'd like to think that I'm in it for the long haul, but frankly I don't know how patient I really can be.
Lately I've been thinking of ways to parlay this into a full-time career of my own. Going into business for myself. Writing for business, or tech writing is really starting to appeal to me, and I'm looking for opportunities to master it, or at least improve my skills. Seminars or some other kind of training in proposal-writing would be the absolute minimum. But more than likely, this means a graduate degree or at the very least a certificate in Technical Communication. The University of Colorado Denver offers both; I could foreseeably complete a graduate certificate in TechComm one year from this autumn. Doing it so quickly would limit my options in terms of electives and specializing, though. And, of course, the money, as they say, just isn't there. It's the definitive catch-22: most jobs in Tech Writing or proposal writing that I've seen pay a lot better than what I'm getting right now. In order to be a legitimate candidate for these positions (and/or otherwise increase my earning power), I need the formal training, but I can't afford the formal training at my current earning power, at least not without another loan and even more debt.
Anyway, the other day Tin and I walked past an empty little office studio and I thought, "damn, it'd be cool to have that as my own office." Work on contract, freelance, write proposals or manuals and whatnot for whichever company needed it. Maybe eventually partner with other writers to take on bigger loads, increase our negotiating power, and so on. Just look at this guy: a nationwide corporation built entirely on teaching people how to write proposals and make presentations. Of course, the proposal process is usually internalized, to protect trade secrets. But still, mastering the field, working on a consulting basis, sounds pretty awesome. And a long way down the line, for that matter. I need a lot more experience, and a lot more training in the field, while I'm at it. Maybe it is just daydreaming, but still, finding a way to make it happen...
