<p>While career paths often require tertiary education, student dropout is a growing problem for colleges and universities worldwide, with dropout rates ranging from 15 to 40%. The first year of higher education is of particular importance in terms of students’ decisions to discontinue their chosen program. This study examined the extent to which career calling and career decidedness in the first semester combined with (missing) resource-oriented variables (study exhaustion and interpersonal help-seeking) based on the conservation of resources theory predict students’ intention to drop out of their chosen program after the first year. The study sample consisted of <i>N</i> = 815 first-year pre-service teachers. The results from the structural equation modeling indicated that career calling at the beginning of the study program indirectly predicted students’ intention to drop out of their current program after their first year through their career decidedness after the first semester. Additionally, career calling was negatively associated with study exhaustion after 3&#xa0;months and positively associated with interpersonal help-seeking after three months. Furthermore, study exhaustion negatively, while interpersonal help-seeking positively, predicted career decidedness after the first semester. The study provides longitudinal evidence for the importance of career calling within the FIT-Choice framework (Factors Influencing Teaching Choice) as a strong intrinsic motivational resource that protects against resource loss (e.g., study exhaustion) and fosters resource gain (e.g., interpersonal help-seeking, career decidedness) in the first academic semester. The need to strengthen career calling during secondary education, as well as support measures for first-semester study behavior and psychological resources, is highlighted.</p>