An assessment of the health communication job market across multiple types of organizations.

This study seeks to answer three questions: (1) What is the employment outlook for health communication practitioners? (2) What specialized knowledge and skills should a competent health communication practitioner possess? and (3) How much academic training or professional experience is necessary to become a competent health communication practitioner? To this end, 104 employers of health communication practitioners, representing different types of large, medium, and small companies and organizations from various regions of the United States, were interviewed by telephone. The interview protocol was based on nine core health communication responsibilities identified by a working group of health communication academicians and practitioners. The study suggests a positive employment outlook, where those seeking jobs in health communication before the year 2000 could enjoy varied job opportunities in the wake of an anticipated moderate expansion in the field. Those with 1 to 10 years of experience are most in demand. While an undergraduate degree provides an academic background to perform most responsibilities, for six of the nine core responsibilities an advanced degree was preferred by at least one-third of respondents.