The under-representation of women in prestigious occupations and the lower average pay women earn has been of concern for many years. This study investigated two alternative explanations for this under-representation of females in prestigious and higher paying occupations. The first explanation was external barriers such as discrimination, and the second was internal barriers such as attitudes and expectations of the women themselves. The subjects were 216 female and 149 male undergraduates enrolled in an introductory core course in a large southeastern university. Subjects were asked to indicate their career goal, reasons for their choice, expected income, probability of achieving goal, perceived opportunities in their chosen fields, degree of satisfaction with their major, and relevant personal data. Significant differences were identified between the ultimate career goals, the reasons for their choices of careers, the perceived job opportunities, and the rewards male and female subjects expected from their careers. These findings lend support to the idea that women, disproportionately represented in higher paying occupations, are significantly restricted by internal barriers. (Author/ABL)