(DIS)SATISFACTION WITH PROFESSIONAL CHOICE AND COURSE REOPTION DURING THE ACADEMIC PERIOD

The growing phenomenon of dissatisfaction with professional choice and reoption of university courses during the academic trajectory show the importance of studying this subject. Thus, this research found the dissatisfaction of a group of university students with the choice of course, the reasons for dissatisfaction with this choice, if these students have gone through the preliminary process of occupational guidance and if this process has contributed to the right choice of career. The study included 180 students from four higher education courses in a private university located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, who were asked to answer a questionnaire developed specifically to investigate the topic under discussion. It was found that the lack of self-knowledge is the main factor leading to dissatisfaction with professional choice. It also appeared that, for the unhappy people, the final periods of the course cause great anxiety to be a time prior to the professional practice of an occupation unwanted, leading them to course reoption. Many of those surveyed reported that they have not gone through the process of occupational and vocational guidance and that they had no knowledge and/or access to activities performed by such intervention, indicating the need to work on publicity and expansion of the service.