Boeing Commercial Airplanes Employee Reviews for Technical Illustrator

"When you love your job."

What do you like about working at Boeing Commercial Airplanes?

"As a Technical Illustrator at Boeing my duties were to create drawing for maintenance manuals Power Point presentations for the Boeing 717. The best part of this Job was the ability to have the freedom to work at my own pace as long as you meet your dead lines. I got to leave my cubical and walk to the hangers were the aircraft were being assembled, to talk to engineers, assemblers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc. All this was done to make sure proper procedures were documented for manuals and presentations that were put together for management meetings. If you have never been in an aircraft hanger were Boeing is assembling their aircraft, it's something to see. They put railroad tracks down the middle of the hanger where they started with the fuselage, just an empty barrow, it was put on a frame that sat on the tracks that was attached to a moving chain, that pulled the frame across the hanger, as it was pulled from one end of the hanger to the other end, assemblers attached the nose, tail, wings, landing gear, seats, and thousands of miles of wires, until the aircraft was finished. The aircraft never stopped moving, so when it started at one end it was just a cylinder and when it arrived at the other end it was ready for paint and flight for 125 passengers. The manuals and power point presentations were a big part of keeping this aircraft safe for the passengers, believe me every time I got on to an airplane I always thought of the check and balances that are taken to make a good safe product. So because of this I always made sure that I did the best work I could, taking photos and collecting drawing and making sure procedures were accurate. There is no feeling like watching the empty barrow called a fuselage come in one end of the hanger and then leaving the other end as a finished aircraft and employees getting together on the tarmac to enjoy the maiden flight. They have a tradition for the pilots, every maiden flight they cut the ties off the captain and co pilot and hung the ties in a room for display; it was the best feeling to watch. I also worked for Lockheed Martin and almost had the same feeling with this company, except it was a defense contractor, but the products we built were off to war and keep are troops alive, which was also a good feeling. I have been out of aerospace work for 4 years, most Aerospace has left Southern California, and because of this I work for a small tile co and miss the feeling I just described. I was told that a job has to do 1 of 2 things, MAKE YOU MONEY OR MAKE YOU HAPPY, if not 1 of the 2 it's time to leave."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Be yourself and be honest. Let them know you will work hard. And then work hard."

What don't you like about working at Boeing Commercial Airplanes?

"The only thing I did not like working at Boeing was when the end of Boeing at Long Beach got close, you started to hear all kinds of rumors and never really got the truth. Over all I loved my job there."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Always tell the truth of what is going on with the company. I feel that an informed employee is a happy employee."