This article considers how young people actively participate in their own socialization process by following their journey through the weakly institutionalized vocational education and training (VET) programme for office work in Norway. The article explores the meaning-making strategies students use to construct coherent narratives when faced with uncertain school-to-work transitions. The study is based on qualitative longitudinal interviews, following the same students over a three-year period. They enter vocational education open-minded, yet confident in its future labour market advantages. Initially, they thrive and consider office work a viable career path; however, this enthusiasm is dampened gradually. Deprived of employment opportunities, they complete the apprenticeship and face poor job prospects in a labour market that favours higher education credentials. By reinterpreting vocational education as being of general utility within a discourse where extended transitions are considered normal, they neither appear regretful nor consider themselves deceived.