Knowledge of the factors that inform the career choice of medical students may help plan the workforce for medical specialities. To determine which factors inform the career choice of medical students we carried out a survey of medical students at the start of their educational block in Otolaryngology. Of 202 questionnaires handed out 169 were returned (84 per cent). Students were asked to rank factors according to their importance in their career choice. The single most important factor was career progression. Other factors include on-call commitment, teachers as role models, and the interest for a particular subject. At the present time progression from senior house officer grade to specialist registrar grade in Otolaryngology is delayed. If this issue is not addressed the influx of applicants into Otolaryngology training programmes will be reduced, limiting the pool from which candidates can be chosen for a career in Otolaryngology.