Finding Career Options that Match Your Career Interests

Brief RIASEC Interest Measure1

 
Section 1
Instructions:  On  the  following  two  pages  there  is  a  list  of  various  activities  and  a  list  of  occupations.  Using  
the  scale  below:
• For  each  activity  write  the  number  that  best  describes  how  much  you  would  enjoy  that  activity.    
• For  each  occupation  write  the  number  that  best  describes  how  much  that  occupation  interests  or  
appeals  to  you.    
 
Scale  
1  –  strongly  dislike  
2  –  dislike  this  activity  
3  –  neither  like  not  dislike  this  activity  
4  –  like  this  activity  
5  –  strongly  like  this  activity  
 

Activities R I A S E C
Test  the  quality  of  parts  before  shipment    
           
Study  the  structure  of  the  human  body    
           
Conduct  a  musical  choir            
       
Give  career  guidance  to  people            
       
Sell  restaurant  franchises  to  individuals                
     
Generate  the  monthly  payroll  cheques  for  an  office        
         
Lay  brick  or  tile            
       
Study  animal  behaviour                    
   
Direct  a  play            
       
Do  volunteer  work  at  a  non-­‐profit  organisation                        
 
Sell  merchandise  at  a  department  store                
     
Inventory  supplies  using  a  hand-­‐held  computer        
         
Work  on  an  offshore  oil-­‐drilling  rig                
     
Do  research  on  plants  or  animals        
         
Design  artwork  for  magazines                
     
Help  people  who  have  problems  with  drugs  or  alcohol                    
   
Manage  the  operations  of  a  hotel                        
 
Use  a  computer  program  to  generate  customer  bills                    
   
Assemble  electronic  parts                        
 
Develop  a  new  medical  treatment  or  procedure                    
   
Write  a  song                    
   
Teach  an  individual  an  exercise  routine            
       
Operate  a  beauty  salon  or  barber  shop                        
 
Maintain  employee  records                    
   
Operate  a  grinding  machine  in  a  factory                    
   
Conduct  biological  research                    
   
Write  books  or  plays                
     
Help  people  with  family-­‐related  problems                    
   
Manage  a  department  within  a  large  company        
         
Compute  and  record  statistical  and  other  numerical  data                        
 
Sub-Total 1

  1  
Activities R I A S E C
Fix  a  broken  tap                      
Study  whales  and  other  types  of  marine  life                  
Play  a  musical  instrument                    
Supervise  the  activities  of  children  at  a  camp                        
Manage  a  clothing  store                  
Operate  a  calculator                      
Assemble  products  in  a  factory                        
Work  in  a  biology  lab                    
Perform  stunts  for  a  movie  or  television  show                          
Teach  children  how  to  read                        
Sell  houses                          
Handle  customers'  bank  transactions                        
Install  flooring  in  houses                      
Make  a  map  of  the  bottom  of  an  ocean                          
Design  sets  for  plays                      
Help  elderly  people  with  their  daily  activities                        
Run  a  toy  store                      
Keep  shipping  and  receiving  records                    
             
Occupations   R   I   A   S   E   C  
Crop  Farmer  
           
Biochemist    
           
Musician          
       
Therapy  Aide            
       
Sales  Manager              
     
Auditor      
         
Electronic  Engineering  Technician            
       
Dentist                  
   
Photographer          
       
Counsellor                      
 
Insurance  Agent              
     
Payroll  Officer      
         
Fisheries  Officer              
     
Veterinarian        
         
Singer              
     
Sports  Coach                  
   
Food  Services  Manager                      
 
Transport  Clerk                  
   
Chemical  Plant  Operator                      
 
Biologist                    
   
Interpreter                  
   
Child  Care  Worker          
       
Telemarketer                      
 
Parking  Inspector                  
   
Sub-Total 2

  2  
  
Occupations R I A S E C
Science  Technician                  
   
Microbiologist                  
   
Actor              
     
Secondary  School  Teacher                  
   
Retail  Salesperson        
         
Accountant                        
 
Aquaculture  Farm  Worker                  
   
Surgeon                
Set  Designer                  
Disability  Support  Worker                      
Insurance  Agent                  
Postal  Employee                    
Fire  Fighter                      
Orthodontist                  
Blogger                        
Clinical  Psychologist                      
Lawyer                        
Programmer  (IT)                      
Airline  Pilot                    
Environmental  Scientist                        
Director  (Film,  Television,  Radio  or  Stage)                    
Contact  Centre  Operator                      
Real  Estate  Sales  Agent                      
Bank  Worker                  
Sub-Total 3

Scoring: To score, add each column on each of the three pages. Write the sub-total in the space
provided at the end of each page. Then and put the sub-totals in the table below.

Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional

Sub-Total 1
Sub-Total 2
Sub-Total 3
Total

My  Code  
Write the initial letter of your top three categories in boxes below:

     

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Next  Steps  
Step  1  
Before exploring occupations related to your results, it is recommended that you make connections
between the results of the questionnaire just completed and your life experiences by reflecting on and
perhaps writing responses to the questions below2, 3. You may wish to consult a career practitioner or
someone who knows you well to help you work through this section.
 
Meaning  of  the  Code  Letters  
1. What  is  your  three-­‐letter  code?    
2. How  would  you  explain  each  of  these  letters?    
3. How  would  you  explain  the  order  of  your  three-­‐letter  code?    
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The  Code  Order    
4. Locate  your  three  code  letters  on  a  scale  from  1  to  10  where  1  is  least  important  and  10  is  
most  important.  
 
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Least   Most  
Important   Important  
 
 
5. How  do  you  interpret  the  location  of  your  letters  on  the  scale?  For  example,  are  they  close  
together,  evenly  spaced,  or  far  apart?  What  does  this  mean  to  you?  
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The  code  letters  in  Your  Life    
6. In  what  ways  is  the  first  letter  of  your  code  evident  in  your  life?    
7. In  what  ways  is  the  second  letter  of  your  code  evident  in  your  life?    
8. In  what  ways  is  the  third  letter  of  your  code  evident  in  your  life?    
9. What  relationships  do  you  see  between  your  three  letters  and  various  facets  of  your  life,  
such  as  your  work,  learning,  leisure  and  other  life  roles?    
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Personal  Reflection    
10. Does  your  RIASEC  three-­‐letter  code  fit  with  your  life?  What  personal  qualities  have  you  
identified  in  your  reflection  so  far  that  are  most  important  to  you?    
 
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Code  Letters  at  Work  
If  you  have  a  job,  think  about  the  code  letters  in  your  work  context.  If  you  do  not  have  a  job  skip  
this  section.    
 
11. If  in  general  the  dominant  letter  for  your  occupation  or  current  job  is  ______  ,  what  proportion  
of  your  work  would  reflect  that  code  letter?  What  work  responsibilities  do  you  have  that  
accord  with  that  code  letter?  What  code  letters  would  describe  the  other  major  
responsibilities  of  your  work  role?    
12. Of  all  your  work  responsibilities,  which  do  you  find  most  satisfying  or  rewarding  and  which  
are  least  satisfying  and  least  rewarding  and  how  do  you  relate  these  to  your  three  code  
letters?        
 
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Possible  Work  Futures  
13. Based  on  your  reflection  in  the  previous  questions  and  your  RIASEC  three-­‐letter  code,  what  
could  you  look  for  in  future  work  opportunities  in  order  to  achieve  work  satisfaction?    
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Step  2  
Go  back  to  the  Grow  Careers  website  to  find  out  how  you  can  use  your  RIASEC  results  and  your  
reflection.  Explore  some  career  possibilities  by  using  the  tools  for  identifying  occupations.  
 
1  Armstrong,  P.  I.,  Allison,  W.,  &  Rounds,  J.  (2010).  Development  and  initial  validation  of  brief  public  domain  RIASEC  marker  scales.  
Journal  of  Vocational  Behavior,  73,  287-­‐299  
2  McMahon,  M.  &  Watson,  M.  (2012).  Telling  stories  of  career  assessment.  Journal  of  Career  Assessment,  20,  440-­‐451.  
3  Watson,  M.,  &  McMahon,  M.  (2014).  Making  meaning  of  quantitative  assessment  in  career  counseling  through  a  story-­‐telling  

approach.  In  G.  Arulmani,  A.  Bakshi,  F.  Leong,  &  T.  Watts  (Eds.),  Handbook  of  career  development:  International  perspectives  (pp.  631–
644).  New  York,  NY:  Springer.    
 

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