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Another idea for nOObs who aren't sure of their grammar:
Join the copyediting-l -at- indiana -dot- edu list and just lurk. Not every post will
be of interest, but over a few months you will probably learn something,
including in relation to other resources you might want to investigate.
And as you start writing, it's a great place to post usage questions.
> Chris
On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 9:01 AM, Rick Lippincott <rjl6955 -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> We should probably note for the benefit of
> the majority of readers on this list, in the context of this discussion
> Ed's use of the word "contractor" is very different from the normal tech
> comm usage.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 29, 2015, at 9:37 PM, Ed <glassnet -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> > There are two major contractor employment bins, in my opinion. One bin
> has contractors directly supporting the mission, or the building of weapons
> systems. The other bin is filled with contractors who support the logistics
> efforts of DoD. In bin #1 your job is stable so long as DoD and foreign
> military sales are growing. In bin #2 much of the effort is duplicative,
> and has to be done that way because of the inefficiencies that naturally
> occur with big gov't and their dealing with contractors. I suspect bin #2
> has seen more cuts.
> >
> > The trend for the last decade is fewer DoD contractor employees.
> >
>http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/defense-industry-shrinking-110321.html
> > There are pockets of strength in tech writing (DC, SD, etc.) but the
> trend is moving away from the pay that writers were making. Now the
> branches are a bit smarter, and getting that work done (or not done) by
> cheaper labor. There's also a shift away form the big companies to smaller
> ones, meaning fewer benefits. Some of the larger companies created new
> divisions so different benefits could be offered. The executive largesse is
> supposedly smaller, too.
> >
> > Another very significant point is that if you are coming out of service
> with relevant experience with combat systems, logistics, etc., then the new
> jobs are yours.
> >
> > There are also federal workforce reductions to contend with. If you are
> a federal worker who is subject to that, then you get first pick of many of
> the GS openings.
> >
> > The good news is that as one industry closes doors, others are ticking
> upward.
> >
> >> On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 2:49 PM, Rick Lippincott <rjl6955 -at- gmail -dot- com>
> wrote:
> >> Well...yes and no.
> >>
> >> Up tempo operations often translate into higher requirements for
> maintenance, inspection, repair, and modification instructions...both
> during and after the operations.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> -Rick Lippincott
> >>
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> > On Jun 29, 2015, at 1:13 PM, Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > The job market for defense-sector tech writers is not very closely
> >> > related to how much actual military action going on. It's tied more to
> >> > R&D spending.
> >> >
> >> > Some defense industries cross over into civilian markets. For example,
> >> > in the next ten years there will probably be a lot more jobs for tech
> >> > writers documenting drone applications and infrastructure for the
> >> > civilian market, since that's poised for exponential growth as
> >> > regulations open up opportunities.
> >> >
> >> > On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 9:12 AM, Sean Brierley
> >> > <sean -dot- brierley -at- gerberscientific -dot- com> wrote:
> >> >> With wars looming in Iran and North Korea, not to mention a strong
> >> >> possibility of troops going into Iraq to fight Isil? I'm sure the
> defense
> >> >> industry has plans to keep business strong. The question is, are
> technical
> >> >> communicators part of that future, or overhead?
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> >
> > --
> > Ed
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