This pilot project was designed to assist high school counselors working with lower socioeconomic Spanish-speaking students to develop more effective vocational counseling programs based on identification of the environmental constructs that influence vocational decisions of Mexican-American youths. Data were collected from interviews with selected Chicano high school seniors and their parents in the Oakland, California area. The environmental constructs were based on responses dealing with vocational decision making by students and the influence of their family members. A major construct was the environmental press to succeed, modified by the burden of low self-esteem influenced by the family background. The study emphasizes the need to develop counseling programs for families and students to coordinate their career aspirations with a realistic career education program. (MF)