This study focused on how preferences for present or past experiences, or future expectations influence Japanese college students' vocational motives and their perspective of the timing of major life events. The results from a questionnaire survey to 445 college students were 1) the preferences affected the vocational motives, especially the past-oriented students were inclined to attach great importance to the vocational motive of "many paid vacations" and the future-oriented students tended to attach extremely great importance to "worth doing," and 2) the preferences had little influence on the perspective of life events.