Organizations in the business sector, as well as government and academia, continue to demand intelligent professionals trained in science, mathematics, and technology. This paper explores factors that may influence women's initial choices to pursue careers in these fields. In addition to the many well-established factors that guide an individual's career choice, we propose that women who choose careers in science and technology have a subset of common early experiences that encourage them to pursue a career path still regarded as contrary to traditional gender roles for women. For many women, this common background is a transforming experience that supports their career choice in science, mathematics, and technology. This transforming experience is composed of personal contact with a role model and often an intimate involvement with the process that serves as an invitation into the world of scientific inquiry. The researchers outline a model for women's career selection in these nontraditional fields, and our results suggest some recommendations for increasing the numbers of women in these careers.