The purpose of this research was to investigate career development of gifted and regular elementary school students. Students in grades four through six from a university laboratory school were examined by ability, grade level, and gender in several areas of interests, using the Holland (1985a) Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments.The Self-Directed Search - Form E (SDS-E; Holland, 1985b) and The Occupational Alternatives Questions (OAQ; Slaney, 1980) were administered to 148 students, 34 of which had been identified as gifted. Holland (1985b) SDS codes were assigned to the SDS obtained scores and the stated occupational choices. Prestige of occupational choices were also assigned, using the socioeconomic index of Stevens and Cho (1985).Demographic variables and hypotheses were tested by MANOVA and ANOVA statistical procedures to determine the nature of relationships between variables.Results indicated overall significant main effects in the MANOVA of obtained SDS codes for the independent variables of grade, sex, and ability. Males scored higher than females on the Realistic code. Females scored higher on the Artistic and Social codes. Gifted students scored higher on the Investigative code. On the ANOVA of the differential variable, there were significant differences by grade and sex, with fifth grade students and females more highly differentiated. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services