<![CDATA[Vocational High Schools (SMK) are formal education mandated by law to prepare human resources ready to enter the workforce and become productive workers. Career choice is a crucial process that reflects an individual's readiness to determine a future direction that aligns with their potential and life goals. Career interest is a person's desire to make choices in carrying out tasks within their field and responsibilities. This study aims to determine whether there is a relationship between career interest and career choice. This study used a quantitative approach with a correlational approach, using a questionnaire as the data collection technique. Respondents were 10th-grade students. The methods used included instrument testing (Validity and Reliability), prerequisite testing (Normality and Linearity), and hypothesis testing (Product Moment Correlation, Chi-Square, and Determination). SPSS 20.0 software was used for analysis. The results of this study indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between career interest and career choice of students at State Vocational High School 1 Padang Panjang, the alternative hypothesis (H₁) is accepted and the null hypothesis (H₀) is rejected. In addition, the regression results show that career interest contributes 16.9% to career choice. Overall, the analysis results show that career interest has a positive and insignificant relationship with career choice, which is included in the weak category.]]>
