Glossary
RIASEC and Holland Codes
What are RIASEC and Holland Codes?
RIASEC is John Holland's framework for describing work interests and work environments. It groups interests into six categories. Most people have interests in several, rather than fitting neatly into one box.
The six themes are often called Holland Codes or Holland Occupational Themes. RIASEC takes its letters from their names, in the order shown below.
The six categories
- Realistic: practical activities.
- Investigative: inquiry and analysis.
- Artistic: creative expression.
- Social: helping and teaching.
- Enterprising: persuasion and leadership.
- Conventional: structured work with information and procedures.
The model places these categories around a hexagon, with more closely related interests next to each other.
A Holland Code example
A code such as AIS represents Artistic, Investigative, and Social interests, with Artistic highest in that profile. It summarizes an interest pattern. It does not mean that the person belongs only to those categories or has the skills for every related occupation.
How it is used
The O*NET Interest Profiler uses the framework to connect people's reported likes and dislikes with occupational profiles. This gives them careers to explore.
A counselor can use an interest profile to start a discussion about possible careers. A student can use it to explore courses or majors, and someone changing jobs can use it to identify occupations or training to investigate.
Limitations of RIASEC
An interest profile can help you find work that appeals to you. It does not tell you how good you are at it or choose your career for you. Skills, values, training, and available opportunities belong in that decision too.
A matching code gives you careers to investigate, not an answer to accept. Look at the work’s daily tasks, requirements, conditions, and available opportunities before treating an occupation as a good fit.