The study focuses on the professional orientation of ninth grade elementary school pupils. It consists of two basic parts: theoretical and empirical. In three chapters of the theoretical part there are discussed findings of ontogenetic psychology of adolescence with an emphasis on the choice of further educational path. Also the effects of selected objective and subjective factors on the process of transition of pupils from lower (ISCED 2) to upper (ISCED 3) secondary education are identified. After that, the principal concepts of career theories including the results of selected Czech and foreign research are outlined. The empirical part contains description of the measured variables and set of hypotheses, a description of the sample respondents and the methods used. Based on the quantitative survey correlation links between selected variables are described. All the findings are summarized in the same chapter, after that, they are discussed in detail. The conclusion chapter, bibliography and annexes close the work