Careers
Careers
Six interest types, mapped to UK jobs
The interests test counts how many activities you would like in six areas. Your three highest, in order, are your code: someone who likes investigating, then making, then helping has the code IAS. Each type page says what the type is, lists twenty UK jobs mapped from O*NET occupations with links to the National Careers Service, and says which other types it combines with.
The six types
- Realistic (R). The doers: tools, machines, plants, animals and physical work.
- Investigative (I). The thinkers: research, analysis and working out how things work.
- Artistic (A). The creators: writing, design, music, performance and film.
- Social (S). The helpers: teaching, caring, guiding and treating.
- Enterprising (E). The persuaders: selling, managing, negotiating and starting things.
- Conventional (C). The organisers: records, procedures, numbers and getting details right.
Reading a code
Adjacent types on Holland's hexagon (R, I, A, S, E, C, round and back to R) go together more often than opposite ones, so RI, SE and AS codes are common and RS or IE codes are rarer. A code describes what you would enjoy, not what you should do: the job you take also depends on what you are good at, what is available and what it pays, none of which an interest test measures.
- Twenty Holland codes and UK jobs The codes the most O*NET occupations carry, each with UK jobs.
- Holland codes explained
- Jobs for introverts Interests and extraversion together.
- Careers for creative people Openness and the artistic type together.
- Using an interest test for a career change
- What if my interests do not match my job?
Sources and licence
This page includes information from the O*NET Career Exploration Tools by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY-ND 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. O*NET Career Exploration Tools licence. UK job profiles are from the National Careers Service.