Envisioning career paths in technical communication: A survey of participants in a technical communication graduate program

Technical communication is a relatively young field that is still evolving and struggling to define itself as an area of study and as a profession. Few longitudinal studies of technical communicators´ career paths have been done. This paper reports the results of a survey designed to examine the career paths and perceptions of individuals completing master´s level coursework in a graduate program in technical and scientific communication over a 25-year period. Summaries of the respondents´ recommendations for students considering technical communication careers and faculty designing technical communication courses and programs are provided to help them in envisioning the future when planning curriculum and workplace strategies.