Recent efforts toward career education and the rise in occupationally oriented programs on the secondary and postsecondary level encourage a close examination of the nature of the relationship between people and their vocations. A 74 item device, the Vocational Commitment Index was developed to assess this relationship. Based upon a theoretically derived construct, the Index has demonstrated ability to discriminate among 123 subjects at four levels of career development in the hospitality industry. Evidence was secured of instrument reliability and validity. (Author)