The mainstream perspectives of sociological research about class inequality in school-work transition usually presume students as rational actors，which are largely mute about motivation and values or merely simplified that individuals seek maximum quantities of exchangeable private goods such as wealth. Trying to understand the intentions，attached meanings，and rationales of career decision-making given by actors per se，this article turns to interpretative rather than positivist approach to seek a supplementary explanation beyond the rational-actor presumption. By interviewing 38 last-year male students from two culturally distinctive top-tier universities in China，inspired by theories on cultural reproduction and culture in action，this article builds a quadripartite typology of career chooser according to axes of “culture as instruments” and “culture as motivations”. The four types are named as self-director，opportunist，strayer，and follower. Four different mechanisms of career destination acquirement and the corresponding consequences on inequality are analysed respectively on the ground of this typology. Findings of this article indicate that：（1）rational choice assumption is appropriate for self-directors and opportunists but not for strayers and followers，which means students are much varied regarding acting rationally；（2）impact of values and meaning-making on career choosing deserves more attention of researchers. Especially for strayer and followers this impact can be constrained or enhanced by university cultural contexts shaped by organizational culture and peers.