To win readers over, we need to write characters so authentic they feel like real people. How do we do this? By brainstorming a character’s backstory, personality, needs, desires, and their day-to-day world. Lucky for us, one aspect of their daily life is a goldmine of characterization: the type of work they do.

Think about it: a job can reveal personality, skills, beliefs, fears, desires, and more, which is why Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi created The Occupation Thesaurus, a writing guide that profiles 124 possible careers and the story-worthy information that goes with each.

However, there was only so much space for only so many jobs.

Those of us at Black Wolf Editorial enjoy reading stories that have one of the elusive spies, assassins, or military personnel. On that note, we've coordinated efforts with one of our military connections to create this special entry to accompany The Occupation Thesaurus.

Staff Sergeant David Feinstein is a U.S. Army soldier with the unique role of being a Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator Maintainer (14T). That job title might be a little convoluted, but here, in a nutshell, are the key things that a writer needs to know.