This article offers an interpretive examination of the future orientation of students in vocational schools as part of their vocational habitus. Through in-depth interviews with 30 adolescents (16 boys, 14 girls), the study identified three key future orientations: (1) the vague use of the term ‘success’ in the absence of an accompanying description of specific goals for achieving that success; (2) the future described through ‘hard individualism’––a future replete with many challenging anticipated scenarios: constant struggles to achieve goals, lack of control, and an inability to predict reality, becoming accustomed to failures, and self-reliance; (3) preference for occupational independence or being solo self-employed, partially motivated by a desire to avoid future experiences of subordination, exploitation, and humiliation––factors characterising their current employment. The effects and implications of vocational school students’ structural vulnerabilities and experiences of social exclusion on their future orientations are discussed. Further research of future orientation is critical in its role as a component of vocational habitus to achieve a complex understanding of the educational work in vocational schools. © 2022 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.
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