Determinant factors in career choice: an analysis of the tension between vocation and employability among Dental Technology students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62697/rmiie.v5i2.323Keywords:
Career choice, vocation, employability, technical educationAbstract
The choice of a professional path is conditioned by a complex framework of social, economic, and personal factors. This study analyzes the determinant factors that drive young people to choose dental technology, examining the tension between vocation and employability in today’s labor market. Using a qualitative approach based on grounded theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with first-level students at a technical institution in Ecuador. The results indicate that this career is perceived as a strategic alternative to the barriers to entry in public higher education and as a path for accelerated labor insertion. It is highlighted that family influence acts as a determining axis, functioning either as economic support or as a pressure that guides the final decision. In this context, significant tensions emerge between vocational inclination and pragmatic necessity, revealing that the choice of this discipline often responds to economic urgency. In conclusion, the preference for technical training in this field is framed within structures of inequality and restricted access, where perceived employability often prevails over initial vocational interest. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen orientation policies and the coordination with the actual demands of the sector.
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Copyright (c) 2026 José Arturo Molina-Ramón, Paola Andrea Mena-Silva, Johanna Elizabeth Fiallos-Sánchez
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