RESEARCH NOTES zyxw The Role of Inside and Same-Sex Influencers in the Choice of Nontraditional Occupations zyx * Michael Betz, University of Tennessee and Lenahan O’Connell, Transylvania University zyxw The role model approach to occupational choice predicts concern with sex ap- propriateness and reliance on same-sex influencers when individuals choose nontradi- tional occupations, while the opportunity structure approach predicts men and women respond equally to opportunity. Using data from male and female engineering and nursing students, this study evaluates both perspectives. Findings suggest the oppor- tunity structure approach is more predictive of nontraditional choices, since male nurses and female engineers rely more on opposite sex influencers, many of whom are inside their chosen occupation. Implications for theory and social policy also are discussed. Introduction Previous research on the process of occupational choice shows that males most influence males and females most influence females (Almquist and Angrist 1971; Basow and Howe 1979; Saltiel 1982; 1985). These findings have led some social scientists to assert that women are more likely to make non- traditional occupational choices when there are women in the field to influence their choice (Almquist and Angrist 1971; Tangri 1972; Burlin 1976; Douvan 1976; O’Connell 1978; Ridgeway 1978; Weishaar, Green and Craighead 1981). But most of the respondents in this previous research chose traditional sex-segregated jobs; that is, males chose typically male jobs and females chose typically female jobs. Consequently, it is impossible to determine how impor- tant it is to have influencers of the same sex in choosing nontraditional jobs. If inside influencers are more important than same-sex influencers in the choice of occupation, then the sex of influencers of men and women in the same occupation should reflect the sex composition of that occupation. Recent zy Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 62, No. 1, February 1992 Q1992 by the University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713