<![CDATA[Research Problem: Across both high-income and emerging economies, teacher shortages stem less from an absolute scarcity of trained graduates than from failures of recruitment, distribution and retention, and Indonesia's large, decentralised system faces the same structural difficulty. Although the motivations behind career choice are well theorised, evidence from Indonesian pre-service teachers remains scarce. Research Purposes: This study describes pre-service teachers' interests in the teaching profession, examines their perceptions of its demands and rewards, and identifies the internal and external factors shaping their career choices. Research Methods: An online questionnaire of closed-ended items, supplemented by interviews, was administered to pre-service teachers at several Indonesian universities. Responses were analysed descriptively and the reported percentages examined for internal consistency. Results and Discussion: A personal desire to become a teacher (42%) was the leading reason for choosing a teacher education program, followed by family advice (39%) and perceived job availability (19%). Respondents rejected the notion that teaching is easy and 85.6% were sceptical about salary, yet 64.3% agreed that the profession offers many opportunities, 75.0% agreed or strongly agreed that teaching is enjoyable, and 75.0% were confident in their own ability to teach. Intrinsic interest therefore coexists with candid recognition of workload and compensation deficits. Every Likert percentage proved to be a multiple of one twenty-eighth, implying an effective denominator of about 28 rather than the 100 claimed. Research Implications and Contributions: The study situates Indonesian evidence within the FIT-Choice framework and social cognitive career theory, showing that intrinsic attraction and extrinsic skepticism must be addressed together. Recruitment and retention policy should treat pay, workload and status as one problem, and teacher education should build the efficacy beliefs that sustain commitment rather than assuming positive perception is sufficient.]]>
