A total of 162 students from a suburban Denver middle school were surveyed to determine the following: their career aspirations, whether they perceive differences in society's acceptance of certain career choices for women versus men, the relationship between their perceptions of their abilities and their desire for certain jobs, and possible relationships between jobs they would not like to hold and their endorsement of reasons for not wanting certain jobs and/or their concerns about balancing career and family. The survey revealed that, although girls and boys believe society accepts multiple career options for women and men, their own career aspirations remain fairly sex stereotyped. Girls considered themselves capable of succeeding in doctor/veterinary jobs but not science-related jobs, whereas boys showed the reverse pattern. Neither girls nor boys saw a relationship between science abilities and ability to succeed at doctor/veterinarian careers. They did, however, see some relationship between science ability and success in science-related careers. It was concluded that both girls and boys need more information about the requirements of particular career options and additional encouragement to consider the rewards of a variety of types of work. (Seventeen figures/tables are included.) (MN)