PAGE 1 OF 5 · 0 OF 30 RATEDHow much would you enjoy doing this at work?
What this career test measures, in short
This test measures your vocational interests: what kinds of work activity you enjoy. It scores you on John Holland's six RIASEC types and reports your top three as a code, like SIA or RIC. Interests describe what you'd like doing, not how good you'd be at it.
The 30 activities are our own wording, five per type, and the test isn't normed against a population. Treat your code as a starting point for exploring careers, alongside your skills, values and practical realities.
By What's Your IQ · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026- Format
- 30 activities rated Like, Not sure or Dislike
- Model
- Holland's RIASEC hexagon
- Scoring
- Like 2, Not sure 1, Dislike 0; 0–10 per type
- Measures
- Interests, not ability
WHY IT'S A HEXAGON
Neighbours get along. Opposites rarely meet.
Holland arranged the types so that similar ones sit side by side. A code made of neighbours, like RI or SE, is "consistent" and points to a clear kind of work. Pick a type to see its neighbours and its opposite.
R · RealisticHands-on, practical work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.Typical work: electrician, mechanic, engineer, chef, farmer, pilot
NEIGHBOURS · SIMILARC · IConventional and Investigative share a lot with Realistic, so codes like RI describe a coherent kind of work.
OPPOSITE · LEAST ALIKESSocial work is the least like Realistic work. A code with both near the top is unusual and worth thinking about.
Fit mattersmore than interest strength aloneA large meta-analysis found that how well people's interests matched their job predicted both performance and how long they stayed, beyond simply liking work in general.3
1927Comparing people to occupations. E. K. Strong's Vocational Interest Blank compared your likes with those of people already happy in each job. Try the historical version.
1959 → 1973Six types and a hexagon. John Holland proposed that people and work environments can both be described by six types, and that satisfaction follows a good match.1
1990s →Coded occupations. The US Department of Labor's O*NET database gives every occupation a RIASEC code, linking interest tests to real job data.2
2012Interests predict outcomes. Nye and colleagues showed interest–job fit relates to performance and persistence, challenging the view that interests only predict satisfaction.3
- Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
- National Center for O*NET Development. O*NET Interest Profiler. U.S. Department of Labor.
- Nye, C. D., Su, R., Rounds, J., & Drasgow, F. (2012). Vocational interests and performance: A quantitative summary of over 60 years of research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(4), 384–403.