© Kamla-Raj 2012 J Soc Sci, 33(2):169-178 (2012) Factors Influencing Students’ Career Choice and Aspirations in South Africa Almon Shumba 1 and Matsidiso Naong 2 1 School of Teacher Education, Faculty of Humanities, 2 School of Entrepreneurship and Business Development, Faculty of Management Sciences, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa E-mail: 1 <ashumba@cut.ac.za, almonshumba@yahoo.com>, 2 <mnaong@cut.ac.za> KEYWORDS Career Choice. Aspirations. Factors. Students. South Africa ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing career choice and aspirations among South African students. A quantitative paradigm guided this study. A survey method in the form of a structured questionnaire was used in this study in order to identify the factors that influence career choice and aspirations among South African students. A purposive sample of 133 first and second year university students (77 females, 56 males; age range 15 to 30 years) participated in the study. The Career Aspirations Questionnaire was used in this study. Career Aspirations Questionnaire which explored the factors that influence medical students’ career choice and aspirations. Data were analysed using percentages and tables. The study found that the family; the ability of the learner self to identify his/her preferred career choice; and teachers were significant factors that influence the career choice and aspirations of students. The implications of the findings and practical considerations are discussed in the study. Address for correspondence: Professor Almon Shumba School of Teacher Education, Faculty of Humanities Central University of Technology, Free State Private Bag X20539, Bloemfontein 9300. South Africa E-mail: ashumba@cut.ac.za & almonshumba@yahoo.com INTRODUCTION Several studies show that new students all over the world are usually faced with a dilemma in making a career choice decision in their lives (Bandura et al. 2001; Cherian 1991; Issa and Nwalo 2008; Macgregor 2007; McMahon and Watson 2005; Watson et al. 2010). In most cas- es, the choice of careers, subjects, and courses of study and the subsequent career paths to follow are a nightmare for prospective under- graduate students (Issa and Nwalo 2008). Most often, choosing the right subject combination leading to the right profession can make the dif- ference between enjoying and detesting the ca- reer in future. Each individual undergoing the process of making a career choice is influenced by such factors as the context in which they live, their personal aptitudes, and educational attainment (Bandura et al. 2001; Watson et al. 2010). In their study, Watson et al. (2010) found that the majority of aspirations were for social type occupations followed by investigative type occupations, with boys aspiring more to inves- tigative and girls more to social type occupa- tions. The same study reported that more than 80 % of the total sample aspired to high status occupations (Watson et al. 2010). In his study, Ngesi (2003) found that poor financial base of students from disadvantaged communities deter choices of appropriate edu- cational programmes and careers. Such students tend to avoid careers which appear to them to require long period of training their finance can- not support (Ngesi 2003). This suggests that students from lower socio-economic families are not given adequate space to make independent decisions on their careers. It is clear from these findings that despite the limited state resources available, the shortage of high level skills and a pressing need to raise income levels among the poor, high student drop-out and failure rates are a major problem in South African universities. Studies have also investigated factors that influence career choice by high school students (Dick and Rallis 1991; Jawitz et al. 2000; Mudho- vozi and Chireshe 2012; Southwick 2000). For example, in their study of socio-demographic factors that enchor career choice among psy- chology students in South Africa, Mudhovozi and Chireshe (2012) found that the participants who attended rural-situated public schools made delayed career decisions. The same study also found that participants were mainly influenced