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What we choose to study—whether fine art or finance—is one of the most influential decisions in our lives. It shapes not only career trajectories, but also income, fertility, and well-being. As access to education is expanding, what we study now plays a bigger role than how long we study in shaping life outcomes.

A new study led by an interdisciplinary team of researchers in Norway, Finland and the Netherlands and in Nature Genetics is the first to show that genetic factors are associated with educational field choices. The researchers analyzed genetic and educational register data from more than 460,000 people in Norway and Finland across 10 broad subject areas, including Health, Information and Communication Technologies, Arts, Natural Sciences, and Engineering.

They found that genetic variation contributes—modestly but measurably—to differences in educational field specialization. Using innovative genetic modeling, they identified two underlying dimensions shaping field choice: Technical vs. Social and Practical vs. Abstract. These dimensions help explain the structure behind people's choices, and align closely with established social science models of vocational interests.

These genetic patterns also correlate with personality traits, socioeconomic indicators, and mental and physical health, suggesting they reflect broader life-course pathways shaped by both biological and social processes.

What's new is not just the findings—but the framework. This is one of the first studies to apply genetic techniques to the field of education, and to interpret the results using approaches from both genetics and social science. It builds bridges between disciplines and shows how genetic data can inform—not replace—our understanding of social inequality.

Importantly, the authors caution against deterministic interpretations. The genetic effects are small, probabilistic, and always embedded in social and cultural environments. This includes gender norms, teacher effects, and the way societies reward some fields over others—even in Nordic contexts where education is universally accessible.

"We hope this research encourages richer conversations about how people find their paths in life. It's not about predicting careers from DNA. It's about recognizing how interests, talents, and opportunities operate in tandem," says postdoc and lead author Rosa Cheesman, University of Oslo.