Introduction:
The advent of distance education has significantly transformed access to higher education, particularly for students with disabilities. Despite this progress, there remains a gap in understanding the unique factors that influence these students in their career choices. It is not known how the structure and delivery of distance education impact the career choices of students with disabilities. To build inclusive and supportive career paths, non-academic institutional support services significantly play an empowering role for students with disabilities to overcome barriers faced in career choices.

Aim:
This study aimed to identify factors influencing career choice decisions among students with disabilities enrolled in an open-distance e-learning institution in South Africa.

Methods:
A descriptive survey design was employed to understand factors that influence career choices among students with disabilities. The study population was all the students with disabilities enrolled at the institution under study in 2024, including both undergraduates and postgraduates. The overall student enrolments for 2024 constituted 358 052 as of April 2024, with 3 044 students representing students with disabilities. This is 0,9% of the overall student population in the institution under study. Therefore, a census approach was used in conducting the survey, allowing all responses received to constitute the final sample. Qualtrics software was used to generate and administer an online survey supported by ICT with the distribution of the link to participants' emails and sending short message reminders. The questions for the survey were adapted from the previous career choice survey conducted in 2022 among the general students at the university under study. Analytical, exploratory, and descriptive statistical methods were employed in analysing the survey data.

Results:
The primary motivator for participants to pursue further studies was self-influence (n=134). Other influential factors included mothers (n=21), friends/peers (n=13), fathers (n=8), and siblings (n=7). The reason for choosing a career path was due to the belief that it would lead to employment after graduation (25,6%) and that the career was interesting and fulfilling and had nothing to do with the job market (19,2%). The top-ranked factor influencing participants' career choices was to be aligned with current employment (32,1%), the second was inspiration from a role model's career choice (15,4%), third and fourth-ranked factors were the quality of Matric results, at 17,9% and 24.4%, respectively and financial difficulties (24,4%). The top five career choices identified as contributing to the country’s economic development were education (n=89), Engineering, Sciences & Technology (n=77), Medicine (n=69), Business Management (n=63), and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (n=51). Prominent barriers encountered in making career decisions included financial stress (n=99), inadequate support services (n=79) and lack of accessible career information (n=72).

Conclusion:
The study provides valuable insights into the factors motivating career choices among students with disabilities in distance higher education. These findings will help inform the development of targeted support services and policies aimed at enhancing the educational and career outcomes of these students, ultimately contributing to their success and societal integration.

Keywords: Career choice, students with disability, open distance education.