Vocational Interests in Engineering Among Secondary School Students and University Aspirants

Abstract

The choice of engineering careers continues to exhibit a persistent gender gap, despite sustained efforts to promote female participation in STEM fields. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of engineering-oriented vocational interests in the pre-university population and examine their distribution by gender using the RIASEC model. A cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted with a final sample of 1,664 participants from Honduras, collected between May and December 2025. A psychometrically validated vocational interest instrument was administered, focusing on the Realistic and Investigative dimensions and a combined Realistic–Investigative (R+I) profile as an indicator of engineering orientation. Results indicated that 30.2% of participants showed high Realistic interest and 46.3% high Investigative interest. Overall, 25.2% of the sample exhibited a high R+I profile, with comparable prevalence among men and women. However, a statistically significant association emerged between the R+I profile and gender (χ2, p < .001), reflecting differences in the overall distribution of vocational profiles rather than disparities in the prevalence of the high R+I profile itself. These findings indicate that the gender gap in engineering is not primarily attributable to lower female vocational interest, but to sociocultural mechanisms that shape the transition from interest to actual career choice, underscoring the importance of targeted strategies to attract and retain students in STEM engineering programs.