Analysis of the Skills Called for by Technical Communication Employers in Recruitment Postings

INTRODUCTION Technical communication educators are constantly pursuing information to help them better serve their students. These pursuits manifest themselves in different ways. For example, there are special issues of the leading journals in the field dedicated to subjects such as assessment (Hundleby, Hovde, and Allen 2003) or education (Barnum 2006). There are organizations and conferences devoted to the understanding of how to educate technical communicators more effectively (Association of Teachers of Technical Writing and the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, which both sponsor conferences on educating technical communicators). There are sessions focusing on this topic held during the conferences of each of the major trade/professional organizations (Society for Technical Communication and IEEE Professional Communication Society). Clearly, the subject of educating technical communicators is not exhausted. Of particular importance is better understanding what technical communication students need to learn. What skills will they need to gain employment, to excel in their positions, and to make sensible, rhetorical, and ethical decisions? Gaining such knowledge is not an easy task. For example, often scholars are divided about what even counts as fundamentally important education for technical writing students. Some suggest we should teach applied practical concepts, such as the latest software or methodologies. Countering this approach are those who believe that students should be taught important rhetorical theories as a foundation on which workplace skills can later be built (probably in the workplace). Perhaps stemming from different beliefs regarding the primary job of the academy (for a comprehensive discussion, see Kim and Tolley 2004), these two points of view are equally important. Epistemology aside, all educators are aware that more information is needed; thus, many studies have been conducted to better understand the necessary elements for becoming a successful technical writer. Such studies have been conducted by surveying students, curriculum, and/or professionals and employers in the field (Conklin 2007; Giammona 2004; Hart and Conklin 2006; Kim and Tolley 2004; Rainey, Turner, and Dayton 2005; Whiteside 2003; Wilson and Ford 2003). These studies have resulted in a wealth of rich detail about the skills needed by technical communicators according to those practitioners (new and experienced), employers, and programs. They have subsequently contributed much to the shaping of technical communication curricula in many other education programs. However, when researching the needed skill sets for technical communicators, these studies primarily used surveys, interviews, or focus groups (or a combination). As with any research area, it is important to seek new avenues from which to draw data to, at the very least, check the accuracy of previous findings conducted with different methodologies. At the same time, it is also important to attain a greater number of participants than were previously studied. While prior research gained a rich amount of detail from smaller groups of participants, a larger number may increase the confidence in the findings. However, regardless of the size of previous studies or their similar methodologies, what is striking is how closely their findings align. Of note is that each of them point out similar skills needed by technical communicators. Below lists the skills that were discussed by the findings of at least two studies published since 2000. Experience: Wilson and Ford (2003) point out the importance of workplace experience (through either internships or real-world assignments), as do Whiteside (2003) and Kim and Tolley (2004). Specialized or technical knowledge domains: pointed out by Whiteside (2003), Kim and Tolley (2004), and Giammona (2004) as helping new technical communicators either find and gain employment or helping them both