In Brazil, nursing is performed by nurses, technicians and nursing assistants, professional categories that differ in terms of assignments and also the level of education in the area. This allows mid-level nursing professionals to continue their training through university education. It has been described that students of undergraduate nursing courses without previous experience in the field can choose the profession in a non-reflective way, unlike those who already work as mid-level nursing professionals. In this study, we sought to apprehend the reason for choosing nursing technicians for higher education in the area. It is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research, carried out at a public university, with the participation of eight students. The data were collected through semistructured interviews, recorded and for the organization and analysis of the data, thematic analysis was used. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (opinion No. 2,487,606 and CAAE No. 80836117.6.0000.5142). It was apprehended that the choice for the profession is related to the perception of an opportunity, being the higher education, a continuity of this choice. As part of the undergraduate nursing course, academics elaborate future perspectives, which include working as nurses and conducting graduate studies. It is concluded that in the scenario of expansion of higher education, the choice to continue nursing training does not necessarily appear to be because professionals prepare a career project, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to enter higher education.