River pig, whistlepunk, and bindlestiff? No, they’re not names to call your sister — they’re three types of Washington workers! The Evergreen state has hundreds of businesses and industries that you might not have heard about. Read on to find out more.

Aerospace
When the first airplane took flight in 1903, it captured the imagination of an engineer at Yale University — William E. Boeing. Boeing took his dream of building airplanes to Seattle where he started the Pacific Aero Products Company in 1916, changing its name to Boeing Airplane Company a year later. Things weren’t easy for the air pioneer — in the company’s early years, Boeing built dressers, counters, and furniture to stay in business when they weren’t making airplanes. Commercial and military airplanes began to catch on at the end of World War I, and today the Boeing Company is one of the largest aerospace companies in the world.

Agriculture & Food Processing
Did you know that Washington produces more French fries than anywhere else in the nation? If you packed all of the potatoes that our state produces in a year into 50 lb. bags and laid them end- to-end, you would have enough potatoes to circle the earth twice! But there’s more than just spuds in our state. Washington is a primary producer of wheat, apples, milk, cattle, and much more. Food grown or raised here feeds thousands of families all over the United States.

Forestry
Forests cover more than half of Washington state. That’s about 23 million acres of trees. The kinds of trees grown here include Douglas-fir, spruce, and pine. The Weyerhaeuser Company is one of the key timber companies in the state. Washington workers manage our forests not only to provide renewable wood products, but also for recreation and to protect wildlife.

Life Sciences
Biotechnology is one of Washington’s fastest growing industries. But what is it? The term "biotechnology" describes the use of living organisms (or the things that they produce) to change human health and the environment. Humans have been practicing this science for centuries without knowing it For example, the use of yeast to make bread rise is one use of biotechnology. Altering crops like wheat and corn to produce more food is another. Life science companies are spread across Washington from east to west. Organizations like Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington work on a number of different projects in this field.

Marine Services
In our state, we don’t just farm fruits and vegetables — we grow shellfish and salmon too! Marine jobs in Washington can range from being a worker at a hatchery to fishing to doing research on our lakes, rivers, and the Pacific Ocean.

Technology
From computers to cell phones, Washington state has long been a leader in developing new and exciting inventions to communicate with the rest of the world. Along with software and electronics, our state is also one of the top producers of video games! We have the highest number of game designers in the United States. Two of the world’s biggest companies that create games and software — Nintendo and Microsoft — have bases in the Seattle area.

Read More About It

International Trade and Economic Development, Department of Community, Trade & Economic Development
http://www.choosewashington.com/industries/

Sexless Oysters and Self-Tipping Hats: 100 Years of Invention in the Pacific Northwest by Adam Woog. Seattle, WA: Sasquatch Books, 1991.

Whistlepunks and Geoducks: Oral Histories from the Pacific Northwest by Ron Strickland. New York: Paragon House, 1990.