Today I came across a position advertised on Indeed. The advertiser: The Wilderman Medical Clinic in Thornhill, Ontario (a suburb north of Toronto). Position advertised: Medical Writer Volunteer.
The ad read:
<<<<start of ad>>>>>
"Medical Writer Volunteer
Wilderman Medical Clinic - Thornhill, ON
Volunteer
Excellent written and verbal skills are mandatory!
Volunteer position description: We are looking for someone to assist in writing articles for our medical magazine. You will need excellent written English skills as well as an ability to quickly learn and adapt writing style as required.
Other requirements:
Team player
Post-secondary education is essential
Excellent comprehension and communication skills
You will be working along side a very bright and motivated team. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please submit your resume to Indeed. We do not accept telephone calls or walk-ins relating to this posting."
<<<<<end of ad>>>>>>
So I responded. No, I wasn't applying for a Medical Writer Volunteer position after over 10 years experience as a medical writer. I told them that even student interns get paid to work in agencies, clinics, etc. Even entry-level writers need income and deserve compensation. I told them that I found their ad offensive, and asked them if they volunteered their medical services to the public. Shame on them! No response yet.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
RidiculAds: Low pay, high volume and fast turnaround, and low pay
No, it wasn’t a typo. I meant to say “low pay” twice... at the very
least. Recently, a colleague found these RidiculAds on a jobs board she subscribes
to, and according to her, the only reasonable response by a self-respecting writer
or editor would have to be "Are you kidding me?"
RidiculAd #1. Experienced scientific / medical writers to research/write articles (1000-3000 words) for a scientific encyclopedia. Rate: $0.05 (5 cents) a word plus a credit in the publication. Conclusion: $150 for a 3000-word article.
RidiculAd # 2. Contract editors to work with authors who are non-native speakers of English. Research experience (studies conducted, papers written/published, papers reviewed, etc.) plus at least 10 years of copyediting and substantive editing experience in academic publishing required. Must commit to editing at least 60,000 words per month on short turnaround times. Rate: $10,000 to $12,000 per year. Conclusion: 60,000 words per month adds up to 720,000 words per year, which at $12,000 per year works out at ~1.6 cents per word.
RidiculAd # 3. Editors for 1-page PDF handouts on health and wellness topics. Rate: $3 per page. A quick review by a colleague of a few sample handouts the client supplied, revealed a sloppy writing and/or editing of these pieces. Conclusion: You get what you pay for.
RidiculAd # 4. Experienced writers wanted to produce health, diet, and cookbooks. A typical project takes 80-120 hours to complete and pays $3,000-$3,500. Fast turnaround expected (~35,000 words in no more than 3 weeks). Conclusion: If one gets paid $3,500 for 120 hours of work, that would equal to $29 per hour.
These jobs offers diminish the highly skilled craft of writing and editing, but unfortunately they exist. Writing requires thinking and creativity, and not simply churning out a high volume of words in a short time. Unfortunately there are jobs out there that pay even worse than these do. What’s even more unfortunate, is that there are the writers willing to accept these rates for their work. As long as these writers, who don’t seem to value their craft, are willing to accept such job offers, these offers will continue to exist and chisel away at the integrity of our profession. It’s time to say “no, thanks!”, and walk...no run, the other way.
Credit: Thanks to Eleanor Mayfield for drawing
my attention to these bad job offers
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
RidiculAd: Curriculum writing Budget: Less than $500
I am looking to design the early learning curriculum.I am trying to focus on brain enrichment side of it.It should include inter active games,fun learning and cater towards the early learning from 1 to 6 years of age,i.e Science,Math,Reading,Writing,Social studies,ethics,behavior,making right choices,etc.
Thanks
Thanks
RidiculAd comment: NO COMMENT!
RidiculAd: Writing 10 journal articles $1k-$2.5k
| Title: | Writing 10 journal articles (ID: 993777) |
| Description: | |
| I am looking for a medical writer to fully write 10 critical reviews (journal articles) of the literature (PubMed/Medline) in the following areas: Sclerostin in trauma and orthopaedics... | |
| Category: | Writing, Editing & Translation |
| SubCategories: | Articles & Press Releases, |
| Skills: | articles,articles & press releases,engineering,management,materials,medical,reviews,tissue engineering,writing, |
| Budget: Fixed Price | $1k-$2.5k |
| Privacy: | Private: Invitation Only |
| Project closes for quotes on: | 03-Nov-2013 |
RidiculAd comment: 10 critical reviews (journal articles). Each review would require extensive literature research of the PubMed database. In real life, each review article would take 60-100 hours. If a professional writer charges a modest $100/hour, then each article (including literature research, revisions, etc) should cost at least $1,000. Ten such articles, would be ten times more...i.e. $10,000!!!! At least. Do the math!
RidiculAd: Literature Review Budget - Fixed Price: Under $250
Title: Literature Review (ID: 988853)
Description: I have a literature review of about 41000 words, I would like it to be rewritten and condense it to around 25000 words. I need it by the end of October 2013. This is for journal writing.
Subcategories: Academic Writing
Skills: academic writing, editorial writing, literature review
Budget - Fixed Price: Under $250
Subcategories: Academic Writing
Skills: academic writing, editorial writing, literature review
Budget - Fixed Price: Under $250
Source: Guru.com
RidiculAd comment: Wow! $250 for rewriting and condensing 41,000 words to 25,000...REALLY?
RidiculAd: Social Studies Content and Test Editor Hourly Rate: $0 to $20
Title: Social Studies Content and Test Editor (ID: 989148)
Description: We are looking for a freelance editor to help create the TExES Social Studies 232 7-12 Teacher Certification Exam study guide. You can view the standards on www.cms.texes-ets.org
Skills: academic writing, test
Budget - Hourly: 10-30 for 1-4 weeks
Hourly Rate: $0 to $20
Skills: academic writing, test
Budget - Hourly: 10-30 for 1-4 weeks
Hourly Rate: $0 to $20
Source: Guru.com
RidiculAd comment:
Never mind a measly $20 per hour. Who wouldn't want to work for $0 hourly rate?
RidiculAd: Demand Media Studios 300-400 word articles for $50 or less
Demand Media Studios is looking for talented and experienced Health professionals to become contributing writers to our network of partner sites. These are popular sites with thousands of new visitors every day, with Health articles that cover topics such as general treatment suggestions, specific areas of medicine, symptoms of common ailments, and more.
Health writers have the opportunity to earn up to $50 per article, and all of our writers are paid twice per week.
In addition to receiving regular payment, our writers gain exposure to a larger readership. Writing assignments are generally 300-400 word articles written from an instructional or informative perspective. Our experienced community of copy editors will help guide your work from start to finish.
Everyone involved with creating Health content for Demand Media Studios is a qualified expert in their particular field. This allows for a smooth editorial process and gives you the chance to work with your industry peers.
Writers are asked to submit a resume and a writing sample. Your writing sample should demonstrate your ability to write concisely and professionally on a Health topic of your choice. Be sure that your resume highlights any Health certifications you have, and/or any prior writing experience you have had with a Health-related publication.
RidiculAd comment:
What they don't tell you is that every article is subject to scrutiny by Demand Media Studio reviewers, who do live up to their name, and are quite DEMANDING! And if the article does not comply with their stringent guidelines, they ask the writer to revise, and if the revision is not up to snuff...they reject it...OR WORSE...Accuse a writer of SELF-PLAGIARISM!
Walk away...no RUN away from Demand Media Studios as they are unreasonably demanding and unfair...It's a content mill that uses writers to produce quality work for either very little or nothing at all...I suspect that they revise all "rejected" or "plagiarised" articles and use it them for their publication purposes...Sop if $25, $35 or even $50 for a 300-400 word article (which by the way includes research, and inclusion of evidence-based studies), imagine getting paid %0 for all that work!!!!!
Health writers have the opportunity to earn up to $50 per article, and all of our writers are paid twice per week.
In addition to receiving regular payment, our writers gain exposure to a larger readership. Writing assignments are generally 300-400 word articles written from an instructional or informative perspective. Our experienced community of copy editors will help guide your work from start to finish.
Everyone involved with creating Health content for Demand Media Studios is a qualified expert in their particular field. This allows for a smooth editorial process and gives you the chance to work with your industry peers.
Writers are asked to submit a resume and a writing sample. Your writing sample should demonstrate your ability to write concisely and professionally on a Health topic of your choice. Be sure that your resume highlights any Health certifications you have, and/or any prior writing experience you have had with a Health-related publication.
RidiculAd comment:
What they don't tell you is that every article is subject to scrutiny by Demand Media Studio reviewers, who do live up to their name, and are quite DEMANDING! And if the article does not comply with their stringent guidelines, they ask the writer to revise, and if the revision is not up to snuff...they reject it...OR WORSE...Accuse a writer of SELF-PLAGIARISM!
Walk away...no RUN away from Demand Media Studios as they are unreasonably demanding and unfair...It's a content mill that uses writers to produce quality work for either very little or nothing at all...I suspect that they revise all "rejected" or "plagiarised" articles and use it them for their publication purposes...Sop if $25, $35 or even $50 for a 300-400 word article (which by the way includes research, and inclusion of evidence-based studies), imagine getting paid %0 for all that work!!!!!
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