Focusing specifically on teaching as a career goal among rural youth in Norway, Germany, and the United States, this cross-national comparative study took into account the general patterning of career ambitions in each society--upward mobility opportunities, status attainment strategies, and organizational character of the educational systems (sorting-out mechanisms). Sex, place of residence (community context), father's occupational status, and achieved scholastic performance level were considered as determinants of career choosing behavior. Data were gathered between 1965 and 1970 in a West Virginia coal county and in three regions of Germany, Norway, and Kentucky. Questionnaires were administered to 2,000 American high school students, 1,427 Norwegian "ungdomsskole" (comprehensive school) and "gymnas" (secondary school) students, and 811 German "gymnasium" (secondary school) students just before a major decision-making point in their educational career track. Findings included: teaching was the most popular career choice in all three societies, especially of girls; European boys accorded teaching a higher status; teaching was a more popular professional career goal among youth from working class families; and scholastic ability had little effect upon the relative popularity of teaching among American high school and Norwegian "ungdomsskole" girls. (NQ)