This thesis aims to show how higher education has shaped the professional culture and future careers of pedagogy students, through an overview of core courses within the curriculum and students’ own experiences. The research was conducted during the winter semester of the academic year 2023. /2024., using a “snowball” sampling method with total of 8 interviewees, all of whom are graduate pedagogy students in Osijek and Zadar. The study focuses on analysing core courses within the curriculum, the organization and implementation of teaching, the acquired elements of the professional culture of pedagogues, the experience of higher education, the vision of the pedagogue profession, and the students’ self-assessment of their knowledge and readiness for their future profession. A mixed-method approach was employed in data analysis; through semistructured interviews and content analysis, five main thematic categories emerged: 1) Study experience (sub-themes: unfulfilled expectations, positive study experience, comparison with other departments and secondary school, balancing student/worker roles, continuation of studies), 2) Vision of the pedagogue profession (sub-themes: negative vision and neutral vision), 3) Organization and implementation of teaching (subthemes: teaching methods of professors and comparison between undergraduate and graduate levels, 4) Acquired elements of professional culture od pedagogues, 5) Readiness for the future profession (sub-themes: challenges in the job market and lifelong education). This approach provided deeper insight into the hidden curriculum (via interviews) and the core curriculum (via content analysis). Furthermore, this paper examines theoretical frameworks and research on teaching processes, students’ participation and satisfaction with the teaching process, assessment of the importance of competencies and their acquisition, and the contribution of higher education. Accordingly, the study places a strong emphasis on the experiences and visions of pedagogy students, particularly on how higher education develops a pedagogical habitus and how students envision their future profession. This thesis thus provides insight into the visible structures of building the pedagogical profession through higher education, as well as the hidden structures, revealed through interview responses.