Re: Nasty Surprise: The Story of High-Tech Jobs

[Kim Nylander <nylanderk -at- IPIX -dot- COM>]

On 1/28/1999 11:03 PM, Maurice King muttered:

>Dear members of the List:
>
>On December 30, 1998, I was one of 12 people in my place of work who was
>called up to receive the news that a corporate decision was made to
>downsize our site. Just one week earlier, I had been told that I would be
>assuming the lead position; on this day, the holding company announced
>that there would be no further product development and, therefore, no need
>for documentation. Thus ended a "permanent" job -- with no prior warning
>whatsoever!

Unfortunately what you are describing is very common here in Tennessee.
While most people don't consider Tennessee to be "high tech," the
Knoxville-Oak Ridge area has a very high level of technological jobs.
One of the largest employers in Oak Ridge is DOE at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, and the Y-12 Plant (refining nuclear materials).
There is a plethora of small computer firms and leading edge companies.

Too bad very few of them realize that good manuals are not usually
produced by engineers.

>I've heard people on this list speak as if jobs are there for the taking.
>What am I missing here? Never have my credentials, ability, or
>professionality come into question, but everything moves slowly. It's a
>shock to me because when I was freelancing overseas, I never had a moment
>to myself; I stopped answering the phone during the day because I couldn't
>get my work done. Is this something that is characteristic of the U.S.
>market? I find it VERY puzzling.

I think it really depends upon where you are.  California seems to have a
great market for technical writing.  Here in Tennessee, all of the tech
writers who were employed at the three DOE plants (ORNL, Y-12, and K-25)
have been give pink slips due to down-sizing.

I had 3.5 years of technical/medical writing experience along with a BA
in writing, and it took me over a year and a half to find a job as a
technical writer.  I worked as an admin during the interim.  There just
weren't any jobs in this area -- a great Sunday employment classifieds
might yield two job ads.  This past winter there seemed to be plenty of
positions -- an incredible 4 listings in one paper!  The market may be
getting better here, but I still know plenty of un- and under-employed
technical writers in and around Knoxville.

Regards,

Kim Nylander

Technical Writer
Interactive Pictures
Oak Ridge, TN  37830
(423) 482-3000


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