Background: The aim of the present study was to analyze the opinion of physicians, specialists in the field of occupational medicine, about their opportunities for professional career understood in terms of promotion to more responsible and better paid posts, when meeting the relevant criteria and requirements. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in a group of Polish occupational medicine physicians (a questionnaire was mailed to the randomized, nationwide sample of 813 subjects, response rate, 35,4%). Results: The opportunity for professional career in the field of occupational medicine was assumed by 66% of respondents, while in other sections of the health care system by only 42%. These opportunities are seen as positively infl uenced mainly by individual factors relevant to personal traits, e.g., knowledge and abilities, organizational and managerial skills, and negatively influenced or even prevented by macrosocial factors, such as low prestige and limited demand for this specialty, specifi city of the workplace and the kind of work. In the opinion of the respondents, their opportunities for professional career are also unfavorably infl uenced by a possible granting physicians without occupational medicine specialty responsibilties equal to those, which should be reserved to physicians who possess this specialty. Conclusion: The majority of respondents consider that limited opportunities for professional career, more frequently encountered in the field of occupational medicine than in other areas of health care, do not encourage and seem to be benefi cial enough to undertake and complete the specialization in occupational medicine. Med Pr 2008;59(4):315-324