The Holland Codes or the Holland Occupational Themes (RIASEC) refers to a taxonomy of interests based on a theory of careers and vocational choice that was initially developed by American psychologist

John L. Holland John Lewis Holland"Award for distinguished scientific applications of psychology: John L. Holland." ''American Psychologist'', Vol 63(8), Nov 2008, 672-674. (October 21, 1919 – November 27, 2008) was an American psychologist and Professor Eme ...

.The Development, Evolution, and Status of Holland's Theory of Vocational Personalities: Reflections and Future Directions for Counseling Psychology
" ''Journal of Counseling Psychology'', Vol 57(1), 2010, 11–22. The Holland Codes serve as a component of the interests assessment, the Strong Interest Inventory. In addition, the

US Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

's Employment and Training Administration has been using an updated and expanded version of the RIASEC model in the "Interests" section of its free online database O*NET ( Occupational Information Network) since its inception during the late 1990s.

Overview

Holland's theories of vocational choice, ''The Holland Occupational Themes'', "now pervades

career counseling Career counseling is a type of advice-giving and support provided by career counselors to their clients, to help the clients manage their journey through life, learning and work changes (career). This includes career exploration, making career c ...

research and practice". Its origins "can be traced to an article in the '' Journal of Applied Psychology'' in 1958 and a subsequent article in 1959 that set out his theory of vocational choices. ... The basic premise was that one's occupational preferences were in a sense a veiled expression of underlying character."Athanasou, James.
Obituary: John L. Holland 1919–2008
''Australian Journal of Career Development'', September 22, 2009. The 1959 article in particular ("A Theory of Vocational Choice", published in the ''

Journal of Counseling Psychology The ''Journal of Counseling Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association. It was established in 1954 and covers research in counseling psychology. The current editor-in-chief is Dennis M. Kivl ...

'') is considered the first major introduction of Holland's "theory of vocational personalities and work environments". Holland originally labeled his six types as "motoric, intellectual, esthetic, supportive, persuasive, and conforming". He later developed and changed them to: "Realistic (Doers), Investigative (Thinkers), Artistic (Creators), Social (Helpers), Enterprising (Persuaders), and Conventional (Organizers)". Holland's six categories show some correlation with each other. It is called the RIASEC model or the hexagonal model because the initial letter of the region is equal to R-I-A-S-E-C when it is expressed as a circle connecting the regions of high correlation. Professor John Johnson of Penn State suggested that an alternative way of categorizing the six types would be through ancient social roles: "hunters (Realistic), shamans (Investigative), artisans (Artistic), healers (Social), leaders (Enterprising), and lorekeepers (Conventional)". Holland offers full definitions of each type in his book, ''Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments (Third Edition)’’ (1997). According to the ''Committee on Scientific Awards'', Holland's "research shows that personalities seek out and flourish in career environments they fit and that jobs and career environments are classifiable by the personalities that flourish in them"."Award for distinguished scientific applications of psychology: John L. Holland". ''American Psychologist'', Vol 63(8), Nov 2008, 672–674. Holland also wrote of his theory that "the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality".Holland, John. ''Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Careers''. (Prentice-Hall, 1973). Furthermore, while Holland suggested that people can be "categorized as one of six types", he also argued that "a six-category scheme built on the assumption that there are only six kinds of people in the world is unacceptable on the strength of common sense alone. But a six category scheme that allows a simple ordering of a person's resemblance to each of the six models provides the possibility of 720 different personality patterns."

Related model

Prediger's two-dimensional model

Prediger constructed the scale of "work task" and "work relevant abilities" based on Holland's model, and carried out factor analysis and multidimensional scale analysis to clarify the basic structure. As a result, two axes of Data/Ideas and Things/People were extracted. Although Prediger's inquiry did not start from interest per se, it eventually led to the birth of models other than RIASEC, suggesting that the structure of occupational interest may provide a basic dimension.

Tracey and Rounds's octagonal model

In the United States, the energetic trial is being made with the aim of the new model which surpasses Holland hexagon model in 1990's. Tracey & Rounds's octagonal model is one such example. Based on the empirical data, they argue that occupational interests can be placed circularly in a two-dimensional plane consisting of People/Things and Data/ldeas axes, and the number of regions can be arbitrarily determined. According to their model, only Holland's hexagonal model does not adequately represent the structure of occupational interest, and it is possible to retain validity as an octagonal or 16 square model if necessary. Tracey, Watanabe, & Schneider conducted an international comparative study of job interests among Japanese and U.S. university students, and the results suggest that the Tracey & Rounds's octagonal model is more fitted to Japanese students than Holland's hexagonal model.

Tracey and Rounds's spherical model

Tracey & Rounds criticizes that the conventional models of occupational interest structure do not correctly depict the positional relationship of occupations because they neglect occupational prestige, i.e., "social prestige" or "high socioeconomic status" and proposes a spherical model that assigns occupations to a 3-dimensional space incorporating occupational prestige. In this model, 18 regions of interest are displayed on a spherical space. The left hemisphere has a high status area, with Health Sciences at the top. The right hemisphere has a low status area, with Service Provision as the lowest ground. Though this model is excellent in the point of more accurately describing the relation between various occupations, it makes the occupation interest structure more complicated, and there is a weak point that it is difficult to be adapted to the data except for the U.S.

List of types

R: Realistic (Doers)

Holland defines the "Realistic Type" as a person who has “a preference for activities that entail the explicit, ordered, or systematic manipulation of objects, tools, machines, and animals…these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to the acquisition of manual, mechanical, agricultural, electrical, and technical competencies.” Sample majors and careers include: *Agriculture *Architect (with Artistic and Enterprising) *

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

*Carpenter (with Conventional and Investigative) * Culinary arts/Chef (with Artistic and Enterprising) *

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

Chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

(with Investigative and Conventional) * Computer engineering/

Computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

/Information technology/ Computer programmer (with Investigative and Conventional) *Dentist (with Investigative and Social) *Engineer (with Investigative and Conventional) *Fashion design (with Artistic and Enterprising) *

Firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions als ...

(with Social and Enterprising) * Graphic designer (with Artistic and Enterprising) * Model (people) (with Artistic and Enterprising) *Musician (with Artistic and Enterprising) *Nurse (with Social, Conventional, and Investigative) * Outdoor recreation * Park Naturalist (with Social and Artistic) * Personal trainer (with Enterprising and Social) *Photographer (with Artistic and Enterprising) * Physical therapy (with Social and Investigative) * Driver * Sports medicine/

Wilderness medicine Wilderness medicine is a rapidly evolving field and is of increasing importance as more people engage in hiking, climbing, kayaking, and other potentially hazardous activities in the backcountry. The modern definition of wilderness medicine is "m ...

(with Social and Investigative) *Surgeon (with Investigative and Social) * Veterinarian (with Investigative and Social) * Web developer (with Conventional, Artistic, and Investigative) * Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists (with Investigative)

I: Investigative (Thinkers)

Holland defines the "Investigative Type" as a person who has "a preference for activities that entail the observational, symbolic, systematic and creative investigation of physical, biological, and cultural phenomena (in order to understand and control such phenomena)... these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to an acquisition of scientific and mathematical competencies." Sample majors and careers include: * Actuary (with Conventional and Enterprising) *Archivist/Librarian (with Social and Conventional) * Biostatistics/Masters in Public Health (with Conventional) *Carpenter (with Conventional and Realistic) * CPA (Certified Public Accountant) (with Conventional and Enterprising) *

(with Realistic and Conventional) * Community Health Workers/Masters in Public Health (with Social and Enterprising) * Computer engineering/

/Information technology/ Computer programmer (with Realistic and Conventional) *

Counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

(with Social and Artistic) *Dentist (with Realistic and Social) *

Dietitian A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ...

/ Nutritionist (with Social and Enterprising) *Doctor (Medical school/ Medical research) (with Social) *Engineer (with Realistic and Conventional) *

Financial analyst A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, ...

(with Conventional and Enterprising) * Epidemiology/Masters in Public Health (with Social) *Lawyer (with Enterprising and Social) *Nurse (with Realistic, Conventional, and Social) * Paralegal (with Conventional and Enterprising) *Pharmacist (with Social and Conventional), * Physical therapy (with Social and Realistic) *

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

*Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (with Artistic) *Professor/Research – PhD *

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

/ Psychologist (with Social and Artistic);

Art therapist Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art the ...

/ Dance therapy/Drama therapy/ Music therapy/ Narrative therapy/ Culinary therapy *Social Work (with Social) * Speech-language pathology/ Myofunctional therapist (With Social and Artistic) * Sports medicine/

(with Social and Realistic) *Surgeon (with Realistic and Social) * Technical writer,

Proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditiona ...

Copy Editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ( copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual o ...

(with Artistic and Conventional) *

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

(with Social) * Veterinarian (with Realistic and Social) * Web developer (with Conventional, Realistic, and Artistic) * Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists (with Realistic)

A: Artistic (Creators)

Holland defines the "Artistic Type" as a person who has "a preference for ambiguous, free, unsystematized activities that entail the manipulation of physical, verbal, or human materials to create art forms or products...these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to the acquisition of artistic competencies." Sample majors and careers include: *Architect (with Realistic and Enterprising) *

Broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

(with Enterprising) *Clergy (with Social and Enterprising) * Counselors (various)/ Advisers (with Investigative, Enterprising, Conventional, and Social) ** Guidance/School Counselors, Academic Advisors, Career Counselors, and

Educational consultant An Educational Consultant (EC) is an advisor who helps parents and students with educational planning for high school, college, and graduate school. Overview An educational consultant offers services that are similar to school counselors and acad ...

s/IEC (see also: List of psychotherapies)Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors
/ref> * Culinary arts (with Realistic and Enterprising) *Entrepreneur (with Social and Enterprising) *Fashion design (with Realistic and Enterprising) * Graphic designer (with Enterprising and Realistic) * Model (people) (with Realistic and Enterprising) *Musician (with Enterprising and Realistic) * Park Naturalist (with Social and Realistic) *Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (with Investigative) *

/ Psychologist (with Social and Investigative);

/ Dance therapy/Drama therapy/ Music therapy/ Narrative therapy/ Culinary therapy *

Public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

(with Enterprising) *Photographer (with Realistic and Enterprising) * Speech-language pathology/ Myofunctional therapist (With Social and Investigative) *Teacher ( Early childhood education, Primary school, Secondary school, Teaching English as a second language, Special Ed, and Substitute teaching) (with Social) * Technical writer,

(with Investigative and Conventional) * Trainer (business) (with Social and Conventional) *Translator (with Social) * Web developer (with Conventional, Realistic, and Investigative)

S: Social (Helpers)

Holland defines the "Social Type" as a person who has "a preference for activities that entail the manipulation of others to inform, train, develop, cure, ore enlighten...these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to an acquisition of human relations competencies." Sample majors and careers include: *Archivist/Librarian (with Conventional and Investigative) * CFP (Certified Financial Planner)/ Personal Financial Planner (with Conventional and Enterprising) *Clergy (with Artistic and Enterprising) *

Community Organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

* Community Health Workers/Masters in Public Health (with Investigative and Enterprising) * Counselors (various)/ Advisers (with Investigative, Enterprising, Conventional, and Artistic) ** Guidance/School Counselors, Academic Advisors, Career Counselors (see also: List of psychotherapies) *

Customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

(with Conventional and Enterprising) *Dentist (with Investigative and Realistic) *

/ Nutritionist (with Investigative and Enterprising) *Doctor (Medical school/ Medical research) (with Investigative) * Educational administration (with Enterprising and Conventional) *

(with Conventional and Enterprising)Holland Theme Codes
/ref> * Entrepreneur (with Enterprising and Artistic) * Epidemiology/Masters in Public Health (with Investigative) * Personal Financial Planner/ Certified Financial Planner (with Enterprising and Conventional) *

(with Realistic and Enterprising) * Fitness Trainer and Aerobics Teacher (with Enterprising and Realistic) * Foreign Service/Diplomacy (with Enterprising and Artistic) *

Human Resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms includ ...

(with Conventional and Enterprising) *Lawyer (with Investigative and Enterprising) *Nurse (with Realistic, Conventional, and Investigative) * Park Naturalist (with Realistic and Artistic) *Pharmacist (with Investigative and Conventional) * Physical therapy (with Realistic and Investigative) *

/ Psychologist (with Artistic and Investigative);

/ Dance therapy/Drama therapy/ Music therapy/ Narrative therapy/ Culinary therapy * Social Advocate *Sociology *Social Work * Speech-language pathology/ Myofunctional therapist (With Investigative and Artistic) *Surgeon (with Realistic and Investigative) *Teacher ( Early childhood education, Primary school, Secondary school, Teaching English as a second language, Special Ed, and Substitute teaching) (with Artistic) * Sports medicine/

(with Investigative and Realistic) * Trainer (business) (with Artistic and Conventional) *Translator (with Artistic) *

(with Investigative) * Veterinarian (with Investigative and Realistic)

E: Enterprising (Persuaders)

Holland defines the "Enterprising Type" as a person who has "a preference for actives that entail the manipulation of others to attain organization goals or economic gain...these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to an acquisition of leadership, interpersonal, and persuasive competences." Sample majors and careers include: * Actuary (with Investigative and Conventional) *Architect (with Artistic and Realistic) *Business (with Social and Conventional) * Broker or Agent (i.e. Automobile broker, Real Estate broker etc.) * Buyer * CPA (Certified Public Accountant) (with Investigative and Conventional) * CFP (Certified Financial Planner)/ Personal Financial Planner (with Social and Conventional) * Community Health Workers/Masters in Public Health (with Investigative and Social) * Culinary arts (with Artistic and Realistic) *Clergy (with Artistic and Social) *

(with Conventional and Social) *

/ Nutritionist (with Social and Investigative) * Educational administration (with Social and Conventional) *

(with Conventional and Social) * Entrepreneur (with Social and Artistic) *Fashion design (with Artistic and Realistic) *

(with Investigative and Conventional) * Foreign Service/Diplomacy (with Social and Artistic) *

(with Social and Realistic) * Fitness Trainer and Aerobics Teacher (with Realistic and Social) *

Fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

* Graphic designer (with Artistic and Realistic) *

(with Conventional and Social) *

(with Artistic) *Lawyer (with Investigative and Social) *Management/ Management Consultant * Market Research Analyst (with Investigative) * Model (people) (with Artistic and Realistic) *Musician (with Artistic and Realistic) * Paralegal (with Conventional and Investigative) *Photographer (with Artistic and Realistic) * Public Health Educator/Masters in Public Health (with Social) * Property manager/ Community association manager (with Conventional) *

/Publicity/Advertising/Marketing (with Artistic) *Sales (with Conventional and Social)

C: Conventional (Organizers)

Holland defines the "Conventional Type" as a person who has "a preference for actives that entail the explicit, ordered, systematic manipulation of data (keeping records, filing materials, reproducing materials, organizing business machines and data processing equipment to attain organizational or economic goals)...these behavioral tendencies lead in turn to an acquisition of clerical, computational, and business system competenceis." Sample majors and careers include: * Actuary (with Investigative and Enterprising) *Archivist/Librarian (with Social and Investigative) * Biostatistics/Masters in Public Health (with Investigative) *Carpenter (with Realistic and Investigative) *

(with Investigative and Realistic) * CFP (Certified Financial Planner)/ Personal Financial Planner (with Social and Enterprising) * CPA (Certified Public Accountant) (with Investigative and Enterprising) * Computer engineering/

/Information technology/ Computer programmer (with Investigative and Realistic) *

(with Enterprising and Social) * Educational administration (with Social and Enterprising) *

(with Social and Enterprising) *Engineer (with Investigative and Realistic) *

(with Investigative and Enterprising) * Personal Financial Planner/ Certified Financial Planner (with Social and Enterprising) *

(HR) (with Enterprising and Social) * Math teacher (with Social) *Nurse (with Realistic, Social, and Investigative) * Office administration (with Enterprising) * Paralegal (with Enterprising and Investigative) * Pharmacist (with Social and Investigative), * Property manager/ Community association manager (with Enterprising) *

Real Estate Agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and ag ...

(with Enterprising) *Statistician (with Realistic and Investigative) * Technical writer,

(with Artistic and Investigative) * Trainer (business) (with Social and Artistic) * Web developer (with Artistic, Realistic, and Investigative)

Notes

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Free tests

O*NET Interest Profiler (Holland Codes Quiz)
– Occupational Information Network (O*NET):

/ Employment and Training Administration
Student Services: Holland Codes Quiz
–

Rogue Community College Rogue Community College (RCC) is a public community college with campuses in both Jackson County and Josephine County, falling roughly in the geographic region known as the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. History RCC was established in Novemb ...

Free career databases

O*NET Holland Codes Interests Matched to Careers
�� Occupational Information Network (O*NET):

/ Employment and Training Administration
Delaware Department of Labor@Delaware Career Compass
State of Delaware

Free college majors databases

Holland Code and College Majors: College majors classified by Holland Themes
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Central Oregon Community College Central Oregon Community College is a community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Additionally its district includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. History Cent ...

College Majors and Holland Codes
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Holland Code Handout
- Central Washington University
Major and Career Exploration
- University of Oklahoma
Majors With Interest Codes

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,10 ...

Motivational theories Career development Higher education Personality typologies Personality tests