RIASEC / Holland Code test
See what each of the six interest types means, how your code is built, and how your result is read against the population that actually fits you.
The Holland Code, or RIASEC model, is the most widely used framework in vocational psychology for matching people to work. It does not measure how good you are at anything - it measures what you are drawn to, and summarises your pattern across six types as a two- or three-letter code.
The model
What it measures
Select a type to see representative activities and careers that load on it. Each type score is the average of short like-to-dislike ratings of work activities; your code is your highest-scoring types in order.
Holland arranged the six types around a hexagon in the fixed order R-I-A-S-E-C, so neighbouring types are most similar and opposite types are least similar. What matters most is the shape of your profile, not any single number: one or two types well above the rest points to a focused interest area, while a flat profile suggests broad or still-forming interests.
Hands-on, practical work with tools, machines, plants, animals or the outdoors.
- RRealistic
Hands-on, practical work with tools, machines, plants, animals or the outdoors.
Facets: Building and repairing, Operating machinery, Working outdoors, Engineering and trades.
- IInvestigative
Analysing, researching and solving abstract or scientific problems.
Facets: Research and analysis, Science and maths, Diagnosing problems, Scholarly and technical fields.
- AArtistic
Creating and expressing through writing, design, music or performance.
Facets: Writing and design, Music and performance, Visual and creative arts, Unstructured, original work.
- SSocial
Helping, teaching, advising and caring for other people.
Facets: Teaching and coaching, Counselling and care, Advising and helping, Community and health work.
- EEnterprising
Leading, persuading, selling and managing toward a goal.
Facets: Leadership and management, Sales and persuasion, Starting ventures, Negotiation and influence.
- CConventional
Organising data, records and processes with accuracy and order.
Facets: Data and record-keeping, Accounting and finance, Administration and process, Structured, rule-based tasks.
The evidence
Science and validity
Holland's theory is among the most thoroughly researched ideas in career psychology. The hexagonal structure - the specific pattern of which interest types correlate more or less strongly with one another - has been replicated across many samples, and the model underlies the interest framework of O*NET, the occupational database maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor, which codes hundreds of occupations with RIASEC profiles. That is what lets a personal code be translated into concrete job suggestions.
You rate how much you would like or dislike a range of work activities. Each type is the mean of its items - higher means stronger interest. Interests measured this way are stable over years and predict the kinds of work people enter, stay in, and find satisfying. What an interest inventory does not measure is aptitude or skill: it tells you what you would likely enjoy, not what you would be best at. There are no pass/fail cut-offs; the result is norm-referenced.
Where you stand
How a score becomes a percentile
A raw score only means something against a comparison group. For example, a Social interest score of 4.2 sits near the 83rd percentile against large English-speaking adult data - a stronger interest in helping and teaching work than roughly four in five adults. Drag the slider to see how a score on each type maps to a percentile; your real result is matched to the population that fits you when you take the test.
Your result, visualised across every dimension
Take the test once and see a full profile like this example, each dimension placed against the population most relevant to you, with plain-language interpretation.
See my full profile →Example profile shown for illustration.
The reference data
Benchmarked against the population that fits you
We benchmark your result against the population that actually resembles you, across 52 reference groups.
Each reference group is used as its own benchmark, not to rank one country against another.
How it works
What the questions feel like
Illustrative statements showing the style of the items. These are examples, not the official scored items.
Assemble a piece of furniture from a technical diagram.
Illustrative Realistic-style activity, rated by how much you would enjoy it - not an official scored item.
Work out why an experiment produced a surprising result.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Coach a friend through a difficult life decision.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Pitch a new idea to a room and win people over to it.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Honest strengths and limitations
Strengths
- The most widely used and best-validated framework in career psychology, with a replicated six-type structure.
- Maps directly onto O*NET occupational codes, so a personal code translates into concrete job families.
- Short (about 6 minutes) and built on a public-domain model with broad cross-national reach.
Limitations
- It measures interest, not ability or qualifications - it tells you what you would likely enjoy, not what you would be best at or hired for.
- A two- or three-letter code summarises a profile; a flat or borderline profile is real information, not an error, and should not be over-read.
- The broad open reference samples are online and self-selected rather than nationally representative, so percentiles are a guide, not a verdict.
See your full profile
A complete report, matched to the population that fits you, with plain-language interpretation of every trait.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Holland Code (RIASEC type)?
It is a short summary of your strongest career interests, written as the first letters of your top types - for example "ASE" for Artistic-Social-Enterprising. The same coding system is used by O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor occupational database, so your code can be matched directly to occupations that share the same interest pattern.
Does the RIASEC test tell me what job I should do?
It tells you which kinds of work you are likely to enjoy, which is a strong starting point for exploration. It does not measure your skills, qualifications, or the job market, so it cannot decide a career for you. The best choices weigh interests together with ability, values, and real opportunities.
Is RIASEC the same as a personality test?
They are related but distinct. RIASEC measures career interests, while a personality test like HEXACO or the Big Five measures broad behavioural traits. They overlap modestly - the Artistic type tends to correlate with Openness, for instance - but each adds information the other does not, which is why career counselling often uses both.
Can my Holland Code change over time?
Vocational interests are quite stable from late adolescence onward, more so than many people expect. They can still shift after major exposure to new fields, education, or life experience, so retaking the test after a significant change is worthwhile - but do not expect a different code from week to week.
Related tests
- Kankaraš, M. (2017). Personality matters: Relevance and assessment of personality characteristics. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 157, OECD Publishing, Paris.
- Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
- Rounds, J., Walker, C. M., Day, S. X., et al. (1999). O*NET Interest Profiler: Reliability, validity, and self-scoring. National Center for O*NET Development.
- Rounds, J., & Su, R. (2014). The nature and power of interests. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(2), 98-103.
The RIASEC model and Holland Codes are the work of John L. Holland; this independent informational page describes the model. O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, and O*NET interest data is in the public domain.