Re: Future Tech Writer with Software Questions

[Craig Lashley <clashley -at- mail -dot- usf -dot- edu>]

Thanks for for the Indiana edu resource. I just subscribed to it. I am also
purchasing Steven Pinker's book called "The Sense of Style."

Craig

On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 12:36 PM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:

> 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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