공학계열 출신 상담 전공 대학원생들의 진로전환 경험

초록

This study qualitatively examined career transition experiences of graduate students in counseling who had earned a bachelor's degree in engineering. Specifically, what made them enter the counseling field, what difficulties they faced in the course of counselor training, how they coped with those difficulties, what would help them make a smoother transition, and what strengths as engineering major could contribute to their professional growth were identified. Nine graduate students, who had majored in engineering at undergraduate and were pursuing master's degree in counseling, were individually interviewed and data were analyzed using the consensual qualitative research method. As participants stated, counseling fitted better their interests and aptitudes than engineering and a positive impression was formed on counseling through direct or indirect experiences, so they decided to enter the counseling field. In the early days of a new career, they had various difficulties due to different academic characteristics, unfamiliarity with the area, and lack of information about subject areas and potential career options. Nevertheless, they tried to overcome these difficulties by changing their learning style and actively working to acquire new knowledge and explore career paths. Participants responded that gaining self- understanding by receiving counseling as clients and acquiring the basic knowledge of counseling in advance are needed to make a successful transition to the counseling field. Also, they believed that prior experiences as an engineering major could serve as a basis to perform well in the areas of analytical and logical understanding of clients, statistical analysis, and systematic recording and analysis of counseling information. Based on the findings of the study, implications for counselor education were discussed.

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