IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2021

New Engineers’ Transfer of Communication Activities From School to Work

Julie Dyke Ford New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology ; Marie Paretti Virginia Tech ; Daria Kotys-Schwartz University of Colorado Boulder ; Susannah Howe Smith College ; Robin Ott Virginia Tech

Abstract

Background: Communication is critical to engineering work, and despite its emphasis within engineering education, it is still noted as a gap in new engineers' preparedness for work. Literature review: Prior research points to communication gaps among new engineers. Few studies have extensively examined transitions between academic and professional engineering contexts. Work remains for understanding how new engineers transfer communication skills. Research questions: 1. In what ways do new engineers transfer communication practices from school to work? 2. What challenges do new engineers experience in moving from communication as practiced at school to communication as practiced at work? Research methodology: This study presents a thematic analysis of data from weekly reflections and regular semistructured interviews conducted during new engineers' first year of work. Results and conclusions: Despite relying heavily on academic experiences involving both documenting and presenting technical work, new engineers report experiencing communication-related challenges. While further attention to communication activities can be given within engineering curricula, the complexity and situated nature of communication in the workplace cannot be fully replicated in the classroom. As new engineers move between school and work, they experience challenges adapting to a new environment including communication activities embedded within unique sociocultural contexts. While the classroom cannot fully replicate these professional settings and all of their nuances, students can be made more fully aware of the embedded nature of communication activities. Moreover, engineering educators can simulate aspects of the workplace in capstone courses, and companies can provide guidance to help mentor new engineers through the inevitable context gaps.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2021-06-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2021.3065854
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research book reviews
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Brumberger et al. (2025)
    From Academy to Workplace: Perceptions of Engineering Communication Skills
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Osipovskaya et al. (2025)
    From Classroom to Workplace: Developing Presentation Skills and Recognizing Com…
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  3. Axelrod (2025)
    Improving Proposal Writing by Looking to Information Operations
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 25 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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