About the test
Holland code test (RIASEC)
Find your three-letter Holland code with our free RIASEC test. You rate work activities from the O*NET® Interest Profiler Short Form, and the report shows how strongly you lean towards each of Holland’s six interest types and which occupations match your profile.
Questionnaire / instrument: O*NET Interest Profiler Short Form
The test at a glance
- Price
- Free, including your results
- Registration
- No account required
- Length
- 60 work activities
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- Format
- Rate how you would feel doing each · five response options
- Your report
- Three-letter code · six types · matching careers
The six RIASEC types
Psychologist John Holland sorted work interests into six types and placed them on a hexagon, where neighbouring types are alike and opposite types differ most. The report uses these names, with the letters R, I, A, S, E and C:
Realistic (R)
The doers: practical work with hands, tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
Investigative (I)
The thinkers: ideas, research, science and solving complex problems.
Artistic (A)
The creators: art, music, writing and design, with room for self-expression.
Social (S)
The helpers: teaching, caring for, advising and supporting other people.
Enterprising (E)
The persuaders: leading, selling, starting projects and taking risks.
Conventional (C)
The organisers: order, data, records and clear procedures.
What your results show
Your report is ready as soon as you have answered. It starts with your code and then explains how your interests fit together. You can preview the layout before taking the test.
- Your three-letter Holland code, with a note when your third and fourth types are tied or your scores are close together.
- Holland’s hexagon with all six types on a 0–100 scale, and how well your two strongest types go together.
- Descriptions and examples of your three strongest types.
- The activities you answered “Strongly like”.
- Occupations matched to your profile, each with its own Holland code, sorted by best overall fit and by each of your strongest types.
What does it measure?
Six vocational interests in Holland’s RIASEC model: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. Your strongest interests form a three-letter Holland code for exploring occupations.
Where does it come from?
We use the 60-activity O*NET® Interest Profiler Short Form, developed by the National Center for O*NET Development for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
How is the result calculated?
You rate each activity from 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (strongly like). Ten activities contribute to each interest, and each interest is their average, rescaled to 0–100. O*NET’s own reports show 0–40 per type instead. The three highest form your code. Occupation suggestions compare the shape of your profile with O*NET interest profiles of more than 900 occupations.
What can the result tell you?
A Holland code describes preferences, not qualifications or ability. Scores are not population percentiles. Our translations and adapted presentation are not endorsed by USDOL/ETA; they have not been formally validated.
Languages and adaptations
English follows the source instrument. Our other language versions include AI-assisted translations that have not been independently validated. Our explanations and result commentary are written for this website.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Holland code test free?
Yes. You can answer all the activities and read your full report, including the career suggestions, without paying or creating an account.
What is a Holland code?
It is the first letters of your three strongest interest types, in order, for example SAE for Social, Artistic and Enterprising. Occupations have codes too, so you can look for work whose code is close to yours. The first letter says the most.
How is this different from the career interest test?
This test uses the O*NET Interest Profiler Short Form: 60 work activities, six RIASEC types and a three-letter code, a format widely used in career guidance. The career interest test uses the 92 items of the Oregon Vocational Interest Scales (ORVIS) and shows eight areas, including Adventure and Erudition, without a code. Both use the same O*NET occupation data for suggestions.
Is this the official O*NET Interest Profiler?
We use the 60 items and the five response options of the Short Form, but the translations, the 0–100 scale, the hexagon and the explanations are our own adaptation. O*NET’s own reports show 0–40 per type. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.
What if two of my types are tied or my scores are close?
If your third and fourth types are tied, the report tells you and you can choose the one whose activities feel most like you. If all six types are within a narrow range, the order is less certain, and the single activities you liked may say more than the code.
Am I compared with other people?
No. The 0–100 scale shows where your average answer lies between “strongly dislike” and “strongly like” for each type. It is not a percentile. The code is based on the order of your own six scores.
How should I answer?
Think only about whether you would like doing each activity. Do not consider whether you have the education or training for it, or how much money you would make.
License and reuse
O*NET Tools Developer LicenseThis application includes information from the O*NET® Career Exploration Tools by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Big Five Personality Test has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. The license requires attribution and validation of content changes; our translations have not undergone a formal validation study.
The terms below apply to the test materials. Articles, translations, software and our result descriptions may have separate terms.
Sources and further reading
Rounds, J., Su, R., Lewis, P., & Rivkin, D. (2010). O*NET Interest Profiler Short Form psychometric characteristics: Summary. National Center for O*NET Development, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.