Employment opportunities for technical communicators in East Tennessee, 2001

This study was initiated to reveal employment opportunities for technical communicators in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge, Tennessee area. Two methods were used to accomplish this goal: a telephone survey of area businesses to determine whether or not they hired or currently employed technical communicators; and an e-mail survey of practitioners to identify workplace realities for technical communicators in our geographic area. The results of the telephone survey suggest that there are fewer companies that employ technical communicators on a permanent basis when compared to a similar survey conducted ten years earlier, but more companies willing to hire technical communicators on a contract basis. The companies that do employ technical communicators tend to be scientifically or technologically based. Results from the e-mail survey indicate that technical communicators still need strong writing and editing skills, along with the ability to communicate effectively in group or task meetings to perform well in their positions. Technical communicators also perform well in their jobs if they have strong organizational skills and some background in science, technology or business. From the findings shown above, technical communicators in our area need to be able to fashion themselves as contract employees if necessary, and need to have strong writing, editing, and communication skills to thrive in the current business climate.