About & method
A real instrument, openly described
Most career quizzes online never say where their questions come from. This one does — here is the instrument, the scoring, and the limits, in plain language.
The theory
The test is built on John L. Holland's theory of vocational choice (developed from the 1950s onward), one of the most researched ideas in career counselling. Holland proposed that people and work environments can both be described by six types — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional (RIASEC) — and that people are more satisfied and more likely to stay in work that matches their type pattern. Your three strongest types, in order, form your Holland Code.
The questions
The 48 activity items are the RIASEC marker scales from the Interest Item Pool, published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior: Liao, Armstrong & Rounds (2008), "Development and initial validation of public domain basic interest markers," and Armstrong, Allison & Rounds (2008), "Development and initial validation of brief public domain RIASEC marker scales." The items are used verbatim — paraphrasing test items quietly breaks their validity, so we do not do it. Occupation examples draw on O*NET data (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0).
Use and credit: the marker scales are made available by their authors for free noncommercial use with credit. This site honours that: it carries no advertising, sells nothing and collects nothing. If that ever changes, it will only be after the licensing is re-confirmed in writing.
How scoring works
- Each activity is rated 1 (Dislike) to 5 (Enjoy). Eight activities belong to each type; a type score is the simple sum, from 8 to 40.
- Your Holland Code is your three highest types, in order. Ties are broken in standard RIASEC order.
- Scoring happens in your browser. Your answers are never sent to a server — there is no account, no database and no tracking on this site. Your result link encodes only your six totals.
What this test cannot do
- It measures interests — what you would enjoy — not ability, talent, intelligence or personality, and not what you "should" do.
- It is an educational and self-exploration tool. It is not a clinical instrument, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for a qualified career counsellor who knows your full situation.
- Interests change. A result at 16, 25 and 40 can legitimately differ — retake it when your life changes.