Five theoretical perspectives related to occupational choice were assessed. These were (1) Super's career development perspective, (2) Holland's typology of occupational choice, (3) status-attainment research in the field of sociology, (4) economic theory of individual willingness to work in different occupations, and (5) a model of decision making drawn from psychology. Although Super's work is highly eclectic, some of his key hypotheses lack strong empirical support. While national samples suggest that Holland's basic hypothesis regarding matches between personality and job type have merit, many of his secondary hypotheses remain weak. Status-attainment research is largely supported by data. However, its theoretical and conceptual bases are too simplified to render a realistic picture of the process of occupational choice. Economic theory contributed important hypotheses neglected in other writings done to test these theories. Application of decision theory to occupational choice is the least thoroughly studied perspective on career choice. Because key concepts relating to the process of occupational choice are not clearly defined and because statistical procedures have not been used in research on career choice, a comprehensive theory resulting from the integration of these five perspectives is not close at hand. (MN)