This study evaluated factors that influenced students' decisions to pursue a journalism career and their commitment to the field. Students from two Alabama universities were surveyed. A quantitative analysis was used to analyze factors that explained students' decision to pursue journalism and their commitment to the field based on three types of occupational motivation -- affective, normative and continuance motivation. Statistical analysis compared factors of decisions to pursue and commitment among students whose emphasis of study was journalism and students studying in other areas of communication and enrolled in journalism classes. Findings revealed that student perceptions about the current health of the journalism industry were not influential in their decisions to pursue journalism or their commitment to the field compared to other factors such as journalist skills like writing, reporting, etc., and perceptions of the media, salary expectations and involvement in journalism activities in high school and college.