Poor Pay in Michigan

Since I moved to Michigan, I have been amazed to see how many TV shows have their main characters living in, born in, or leaving Michigan. I suppose it's because Michigan was the automobile capital of America. But that picture has sadly changed, with the rest of the US economy.

What really drives me mad about Michigan, is the way they are working at, and succeeding, to drive salaries down to an unprecedented rate. I just got a phone call today from a recruiting agency that has been trying to find me work for over a year. They called today with the perfect position.

Let me tell you what I need to do in this position, before I tell you the pay - and you tell me if I'm right or wrong.

Required qualifications: Higher educational degree (MA or higher); detail-oriented, able to make decisions and work independently.

Responsibilities: Oversee all internal and external communications for company, audit communications, able to correct improper communications, able to write processes and procedures for company, willing to work closely with marketing to assure alignment of communication plan, strong editing and writing skills, independent, strong personality, able to make decisions and enforce them.

Terms of employment: Contract to hire
Pay rate: US$15.00 per hour... may be willing to go as high as $17.00 hour

My qualifications? 21 years of experience in all types of communication, MA in Technical Authorship, with distinction, recipient of four awards, and several publications/presentations.

The head hunter told me that the market will not bear a higher salary. I told her that I thought that offering wages like this, and finding people who will compromise is what is driving the market down. It is wrong and immoral. I told her how thankful I am that I have contract work paying anywhere from $25 to $50 an hour, depending on my client and the task at hand.

She asked me if I would at least consider it. I guess not.

What I don't understand is the mentality in this state that they can offer as little as possible for wages, and demand as much as possible. I have a friend who is salaried, the company threatened to fire him when he asked for a contract. So now, with no contract, they are demanding that he work 10 hour days to help the company make up for their losses (yup, they are in the auto industry).

Now will you tell me how working 10 hours a day is going to make up for losses in business?

But it's not just that. It's the way the State wastes money. There is money out there to pay people - if you want to build a turtle wall. Now here is a story for you...

The Turtle Wall of Michigan: Your Tax Dollars Being Wasted for You

There was a stretch of highway where some people noticed a few dead turtles. The government freaked out. O No, we are killing turtles on our highway! We must fix this problem! So, without consulting with anyone, brilliant politicians put in a four foot wall for approximately 100-300 feet along the part of highway in question.

Today, more turtles are dieing now than before. Why? They built the wall in the migratory path of the turtles. They can't migrate, they can't lay eggs, so they are dieing trying to get over the wall, and many new turtles are not being born!

Yikes and ARGH!

With that mentality leading the State, its no wonder companies don't want to higher technical writers. I mean, why higher someone who knows how to communicate when the whole purpose of government is to communicate so poorly that no one will know what was meant to begin with.

Well, with high taxes, businesses have no motivation to stay here. One company was told that they have to move, because the site of their buildings were on newly classified wetlands. Now will you explain to me how something NOT zoned wetlands 10 years ago is now zoned wetlands? Needless to say, the company is now building out of state, and more jobs will be lost.

So I have to say, maybe the company that approached me needs my skills and really can't afford more than $15 an hour. But as long as I am blessed with better work, at home, from out of State, I guess I'll have to say thanks but no thanks.

OK, the obvious question: Why don't I leave Michigan? Because this is where my wonderful husband and family are. and the state can be pretty in summer and fall (though summer is a bit overdue, with us having to turn on the heater to keep at 60 degrees... but I digress).

My point? What is it going to take for people to wake up to how not brilliant our representatives are, to how much we DO need good writers to draw up SIMPLE documents that DO communicate? That the people in this state deserve to make a decent living, just like everyone else, and we deserve to get paid what we are worth.

OK, chuckle, I hear you. Some of you may say I am worthless... not to my other clients. So for now... if you are struggling with pay rates in Michigan, join the crowd!