Academic path and professional competencies seen through the perception of speech therapy alumni.

PURPOSE To analyze the factors associated with the professional insertion of Speech Therapy graduates. METHODS Observational analytical cross-sectional study, with a non-probabilistic sample, composed of 245 graduates from a Speech Therapy course in Brazil. The research applied a questionnaire containing objective and open questions, segmented into six axes. Bivariate and multivariate analysis of the data were performed. RESULTS There was an association between working as a speech therapist with the variables, gender (p=0.031), age (p≤0.001), initiative (p=0.001), leadership ability (p=0.001), decision making ability (p=0.001), teamwork ability (p=0.001), managerial skills (p=0.034), interest in new knowledge (p≤0.001), pride in the profession (p=0.001), network of contacts (p=0.001) and participation in outreach projects (p≤0.001). There was a higher chance of entering the job market as a speech therapist for those graduates who acquired network contacts during an undergraduate course (3.3 times more); were interested in knowledge (3.2 times more); develop leadership skills (2.6 times more); younger than 29 years old (0.3 times more) and carried out outreach projects during graduation (0.2 times more). CONCLUSION Graduates in Speech Therapy who develop a network of contacts, have an interest in knowledge, develop leadership skills and participate in outreach projects during graduation have enlarged possibilities of entering the job market as speech therapists.