Career Readiness and Decision Confidence Among Senior Dental Students in Dental Colleges of Maharashtra: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction: The rapid expansion of dental education in India has intensified competition in the dental job market, making the transition from undergraduate training to professional practice increasingly uncertain.This study assessed career readiness and decision confidence among senior dental students in Maharashtra and examined the association between formal career guidance and these outcomes.Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted among final-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students and compulsory rotatory interns using a structured, self-administered 10-item Google Forms questionnaire (Google, Mountain View, CA) and convenience sampling.The minimum required sample size was 202 (95% confidence level, 6.9% precision), and 208 responses were analysed.Career readiness was calculated as the mean of three five-point Likert items (career-path confidence, preparedness for the job market, and clarity of career plan); the career-path confidence item served as a single-item proxy for decision confidence.Responses were summarised descriptively.Participants with and without formal career guidance were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test (primary) and Welch's t-test (supplementary), with p < 0.05 considered significant.Results: Among the 208 participants, 102 (49.0%) were final-year students and 106 (51.0%) were interns; 202 (97.1%) studied in private colleges, and 145 (69.7%) reported receiving formal career guidance.The mean career readiness score was 3.83 ± 0.79 (median = 4.00), and the mean career-path confidence score was 3.86 ± 0.88.Overall, 153 (73.6%) felt confident about their career path, 143 (68.8%) felt prepared for the job market, and 149 (71.6%) had a clear career plan.Postgraduate (Master of Dental Surgery) study was the preferred immediate plan for 107 (51.4%) participants, while high competition (n = 67, 32.2%) and lack of job opportunities (n = 48, 23.1%) were the biggest concerns.The mean overall readiness rating was 7.26 ± 3.28 out of 10.Participants who received guidance had significantly higher career readiness (4.02 ± 0.69 vs. 3.39 ± 0.84; U = 6816, p < 0.001) and confidence scores (4.06 ± 0.80 vs. 3.40 ± 0.89; U = 6532, p < 0.001) than those who did not.Conclusions: In this convenience sample of senior dental students in Maharashtra, self-reported career readiness and career-path confidence were generally favourable, although a substantial minority reported receiving no formal career guidance.Participants who reported guidance had higher readiness and careerpath confidence scores in unadjusted comparisons.These cross-sectional findings do not establish causality and may be influenced by differences in academic level, institutional characteristics, and other unmeasured factors.Multicentre longitudinal studies using validated measures and appropriate adjusted analyses are needed to determine whether structured career guidance improves career preparedness and subsequent professional outcomes.