The objective of this research was to analyse the relationship between the perception of the teacher educators' instructional style and the intention to choose teaching as a career, as reported by pre-service teachers. A longitudinal panel study was designed based on Self-Determination Theory. The participants were 429 pre-service teachers. The results that emerged from the path analysis revealed a positive relationship between the perceived democratic style of the teacher educators, needs satisfaction, self-determined motivation and teaching self-efficacy, as perceived by the pre-service teachers, and their intention to choose teaching as a career. By contrast, the perceived autocratic style of the teacher educators was positively related to needs frustration; and the needs frustration was negatively related to teaching self-efficacy. The conclusions suggest that the teacher educators' instructional style, as perceived by pre-service teachers during their initial teacher education programme, can be a determining factor in developing the intention to choose teaching as a future career.