Chapter 8: ”From Theory to Practice”: Transition From University to Work

The transition from university to working life is an important stage in a person’s life. Successful transition is one of the indicators of young people’s entry into the labor market, the effectiveness of personal and government investment in education, and the match of the educational services market with the needs of the labor market. The topic of study-work transition has been dealt with by many researchers from the 1970s till today and have shown many empirical studies in the last five decades (Beck et al., 1979; Becker, 1991; Büchtemann et al., 1994; Donald et al., 2021; Fürstenberg, 2000; Konietzka, 2003; Monteiro et al., 2019; Wendlandt & Rochlen 2008). The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the main characteristics of the transition of graduates of and psychotherapists taken by example in Austria. One university will be closely investigated, namely the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna. Although the professional profile of the psychotherapist does not show a classic transition due to the work under supervision, there are still hurdles and challenges that the graduates must face. These range from very pragmatic problems, such as finding a place to work, acquiring customers, coping with the necessary administrative work, to developing or deepening the necessary personality traits and professional expertise. This contribution will address all these and show in addition not only the empirical background but also refine it with personal experiences.