A number of researches investigating on tourism students’ career choices and course of study selection have been widely documented. However, few studies have been carried out focusing on the process and context in which the Kenyan students make decisions about their careers. The study sought to establish the types of tourism careers sectors preferred by most tourism students, especially for formal employment, informal employment and entrepreneurship. Cognitive Motivational Theory and Attribution Theory which identifies the impact of internal and external factors affecting student career decisions were adopted. This was a descriptive and comparative study that utilized qualitative and quantitative research methodology. From the total population of 660 persons, 192 student respondents were chosen for the study using stratified simple random sampling based on their year of study, and 5 lecturers with over five years experience in teaching were chosen purposively from Moi University (MU) and Kenya Utalii College (KUC). Questionnaires were administered to tourism students and semi-structured interviews to tourism lecturers. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The results revealed that a large proportion of students at the diploma level opt to pursue entrepreneurship as compared to the undergraduates who opt for formal employment. This study can be academic and also relevant for policy making in developing countries through unmasking the complexities in designing tourism policies within different socio-economic settings. This research adds to the existing literature, moreso, on sustainability-driven employment and entrepreneurship as perceived by tourism students and developers on their roadmap to achieving Kenya’s Vision 2030.