Professional careers in Porto Alegre’s gyms: an analysis of students’ and professionals’ perceptions

Abstract

Objective: This article looks into how careers in Gyms – according of students’ and professionals’ perceptions about realities and expectations – mobilize or promote contracts with the company or with the person in question. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, including 10 professionals/students linked to gyms in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, through semi-structured interviews. The content of the interviews was analyzed with an exercise of textual reduction, production of categories and subcategories. Results: The emerging categories were: devaluation and instability of relationships; the presence of interns acting as professionals; professional career paths in academia; self-initiated skills development efforts; working in gyms and developing networks of opportunities. Conclusion: Our conclusion indicates that, while the perception about the importance of self-initiated efforts is noticeable – that is, of situations in which the teachers/students interviewed show some autonomy to decide on their careers – it can be said that such perception ignores the relevance of programs and structures that the Gyms offer and materialize.