Here are some of the best questions for a high school students survey about career expectations, along with tips on building a survey that actually gets to the core of what students think. If you want to generate your own Career Expectations survey for high school students in seconds, Specific can help you build and launch it fast.
Best open-ended questions for high school students survey about career expectations
Open-ended questions allow students to express their unique perspectives and motivations without being restricted by predetermined options. They're perfect when we want nuanced, authentic responses—and to surface insights we might not have considered. They’re especially important given that 39% of 15-year-olds are unclear about their career aspirations, and nearly half cite tech or healthcare as top interests, but with different motivations. [2][3]
What career do you dream about pursuing, and why?
Who or what has influenced your current career expectations the most?
If you could solve any societal problem through your future job, what would it be?
How have your experiences at school shaped your career goals?
What qualities do you look for in your “ideal” job?
How confident do you feel about deciding on a career path?
What challenges or barriers do you see for yourself as you think about future careers?
Are there any subjects or activities outside of school that inspire your career interests?
If you could change one thing about how career guidance is offered at school, what would it be?
What’s something you wish adults understood about your generation’s approach to careers?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for high school students survey about career expectations
Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you need to quantify trends or want to make answering quick and easy. Students sometimes find it easier to pick from focused options rather than having to think of an answer on the spot. It’s also a smart way to get a conversation going, and then dig deeper with a thoughtful follow-up.
Question: Which industry most interests you for your future career?
Technology
Healthcare
Education
Arts & Entertainment
Business & Finance
Other
Question: How certain are you about your future career choice?
Very certain
Somewhat certain
Uncertain
Not at all certain
Question: What is the most important factor in choosing your future career?
Salary
Impact on society
Job stability
Opportunities for advancement
Enjoyment
Other
When to follow up with "why?" Ask "why?" after a single-select response whenever you want to understand the student’s underlying motivations. For example, if a student picks “Impact on society” as the most important factor, asking “Why do you value societal impact most in your career?” can yield deeper context.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Adding “Other” ensures you’re not boxing students into a narrow list, especially for something as personal as career goals. The automatic follow-up (“Please specify”) can reveal unique aspirations that rigid options would have missed.
NPS-type question for career surveys: does it make sense?
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) question—“On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [something] to a friend?”—is usually about products or experiences. But it’s surprisingly powerful in school career surveys. Asking, “How likely are you to recommend your school’s career guidance program to a friend?” can quickly spotlight strengths and gaps. Given that 73% response rate is achievable in student surveys when it feels personal and engaging [1], an NPS-style question is a great way to quantify overall sentiment while keeping students’ voices at the center. If you want to see how this looks in action, check out the NPS survey builder for Career Expectations.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are the backbone of a truly conversational survey. They transform a basic Q&A into a dynamic exchange, unearthing richer details. That’s why we built automated AI follow-up questions directly into Specific—it means every response can be explored in the moment, in a natural way. For high school students articulating evolving career interests, these smart follow-ups create a supportive environment that keeps the conversation flowing and insights actionable.
Student: “I want to work in healthcare.”
AI follow-up: “Can you tell me what excites you most about a career in healthcare?”
Without such a follow-up, we’d be missing whether it’s about helping people, job security, or inspiration from a family member.
How many followups to ask? Two or three targeted follow-ups are usually enough. That’s the sweet spot for depth without making the survey feel endless. Specific lets you set this, or even let the survey skip ahead once you have what you need.
This makes it a conversational survey: follow-ups mimic how a skilled interviewer would dig deeper, making the whole experience feel more like a chat than a test.
Analyze qualitative responses with AI: Even with lots of rich, unstructured replies, AI makes analysis easy. We explain the details in our AI response analysis guide—you don’t need to code, tag or spend hours reading every reply.
Automated follow-ups are new for many, but the fastest way to experience the benefit is to generate a conversational survey and see how smart the conversation feels.
How to prompt ChatGPT (or other GPTs) for career survey questions
Using AI tools like ChatGPT can kickstart brainstorming survey questions. Try this as a starting point:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for high school students survey about Career Expectations.
AI is even more useful if you provide more context—about your school, your goals, your students. Update your prompt like this:
“We’re a large suburban high school focusing on preparing students for both college and vocational paths. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a survey to understand students’ long-term Career Expectations, taking into account that many are the first in their family to attend college.”
To organize and refine the output, follow up with:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
When you know which categories really matter to you, go even deeper:
Generate 10 questions for the categories "Influences on career choice" and "Confidence in career decisions".
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey works like a chat—it feels like you’re talking to another person, not filling in a boring form. This approach makes surveys more engaging for high school students, which is one reason why response rates can hit 73% or more when you keep it personal and interactive. [1]
Why switch from a manual survey builder to AI? Here’s a quick comparison:
Manual Survey Creation | AI Survey Generator |
|---|---|
Sits on one person's expertise, takes hours to write/edit | Leverages global best practices in seconds |
Static question choices | Adaptive, context-aware questions and follow-ups |
Needs repeated manual revision | Iterate instantly by chatting with AI editor |
Unengaging for respondents | Feels conversational, like messaging |
Manual data analysis | AI summarizes themes and trends for you |
Why use AI for high school students surveys? Students today are digital-first. Surveys that feel like chat get honest, high-quality answers. An AI survey example lets you create more relevant, personalized questions and adapt on the fly. Conversational AI surveys keep the bar low for participation—and the depth of insight high.
Specific leads the way in conversational survey tech. Our step-by-step guide to survey creation shows just how simple it is, whether you’re starting from scratch or using an expert template. The experience is smooth for both staff and students—and the resulting feedback is richer, faster, and easier to act on than ever before.
See this Career Expectations survey example now
Unlock richer, more honest feedback with specific conversational surveys—quick to set up, engaging for students, and packed with insights you’d never get from a static form. Try your own survey and experience the difference instantly.