What's it take to break in?

[techwriter]

I've been interested in aviation and space since I was a kid. I've been in the airlines for over twenty years, and got a BS degree in tech writing in 2003. What's it take to become a tech writer in commercial space? I've been haunting Boeing, Orbital, etc. job boards for months. Somebody's got to be writing their manuals, for example. So how do I get someone's attention at these companies?

 

[vogon13]

I only have limited experience at one company, and that was 10+ years ago. In that time frame, the assembly/disassembly procedures were being generated as the hardware was prototyped. Many government contracts required pretty thorough estimates of the time, cost and manpower needed to maintain various LRUs prior to the aircraft flying. (they seemed paranoid about surprises for some reasons)<br /><br />We had a software program (and boy oh boy was it clunky!) that organized the procedures with manpower, part, and tooling requirements.<br /><br />Distributed integrated logistics support analysis (DILSA).<br /><br />At the time I left, we had just received a color upgrade to the software. It allowed any of 8 colors of type on any of 8 colors of backgound. Red type on green background was my favorite as it was <i><b>totally</b></i> illegible.<br /><br />I assume since then, the entire support documentation effort is even more thoroughly integrated with design, and perhaps the software has been upgraded a few more times.<br /><br />By the way, I found the folks at Boeing Military in Wichita, Kansas to be total rectums.<br /><br /><br />{in fairness, though, I admit to having a personality profile totally incompatible with the military mindset, thank God}<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[qso1]

I guess just keep trying. Tech writer is one of those really cool jobs with a low turnover rate. Persistance and someone leaving will eventually get you in. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

With writers I have worked with - a couple of keys to the good ones were:<br /><br />(1) Knowlege about the stadards for writing various documentation.<br /><br />(2) Broad domain knowlege - coupled with a knowlege of when to say something about when something looks wrong, and when to ask a question.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[techwriter]

I guess I'm doing all the right things, then. I'm on my second airline as a tech writer, and my third airline in my career. After living through one employer's Chapter 11 and another's Chapter 7, I've had enough. I'll leave the airlines to the younger set, because it's no fun anymore. It gets old, wondering if your paycheck is going to clear the bank or not.<br /><br />I've found that many, if not most, of the tech writing jobs in my area (DC Metro, Northern VA) require a security clearance. That means that the military veterans get them, except for the few crumbs that they miss. I thought that after 9/11, I wouldn't have this much trouble moving over to the security/defense/aerospace/space fields. Guess I was a bit naive there. <br /><br />Well, back to the ol' search. Ad astra per aspera and all that!

 

[CalliArcale]

Welcome aboard, Techwriter!<br /><br />There are definitely companies hiring techwriters. My own company has a number of openings, including one in Virginia. Does not require a clearance. (That's a good thing; since 9/11, the government has been getting progressively more overwhelmed with clearance requests. They've formally halted any new requests due to having run out of money in the department that processes these things.) PM me if you are interested in more details. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>