EXPLORING THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN THE CASE OF ROMA STUDENTS IN ROMANIA

This study used semi-structured interviews to explore the career development process and influencing factors among eight Roma students. Following the analysis, eight areas emerged: 1) criteria for choosing a career option, 2) role models, 3) proactive personality, 4) support, 5) barriers, 6) work values, 7) critical consciousness, and 8) relevance of career guidance. The results show that the family is an essential source of moral support, role models, and persuasion in choosing certain educational and career options. Participants made decisions based on interests in certain areas and had work values predominantly related to prestige and appropriate financial rewards for their needs. All participants received support through positive measures and demonstrated a proactive personality in capitalizing on the support they received and overcoming the barriers they encountered, the most common being financial constraints. All students have a clear picture of how their ethnicity is perceived in society and the labor market and some of them are actively involved in improving the socio-economic context of young Roma.