The short answer to this question is: In 2010 I had an epiphany; a light-bulb moment. After spending nearly 10 years looking for a corporate job as a Tech Writer (and many other full-time, steady jobs), I realized that I was wasting my time on that endeavor. Corporate employers wanted someone much younger and willing to work for much less pay than I could afford to accept, given my several years of experience in the field. In my last corporate job I was making $25/hour as a Tech Writer in the IT industry. The jobs I was seeing paid about half that. They also wanted a candidate to have some programming experience and other skills I didn't have at the time.
Frustrated, but knowing I had a marketable skill - writing - I decided to pursue freelance tech writing gigs. I found a a few website where I could post a profile, look for jobs and also have employers find ME. It wasn't a whole month before I was getting offers. One that I accepted was for some creative writing for a travel website, then another for technical writing for a franchise consulting company. The latter proved to be a long-term contract - 3+ years. It ended recently because they decided to go from hourly to fixed-rate contracts only. I got another hourly contract right away, but it's been a rocky start so far. Two weeks of a lot of work; 2 weeks of NO work.
Still, freelance writing has given me the freedom of working virtually/from home, wherever that home is. No need for a car/transportation or proximity to an office location. Have laptop/internet connection, will travel is the standard. That kind of freedom has it's own downside. Stay tuned for a separate posting on the topic!
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