A career test that maps what draws you in

This career test looks at what kinds of work interest you, across six broad types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. It takes about seven minutes, is free to take and needs no sign-up. It won't name your perfect job, but it can give you better places to start looking.

Please note that Career Compass uses Selfcarta's own questions, which are not yet independently validated. It is based on published theory, and it is a starting point for exploring, not a verdict on your future.

What the test measures

Career Compass is built on six interest types, often known by the letters RIASEC. Most people have a mix, with one or two standing out.

• Realistic: you tend to enjoy hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, and seeing a practical result.
• Investigative: you tend to enjoy working out how things work, asking questions and solving problems.
• Artistic: you tend to enjoy making things, expressing ideas and having room to do it your own way.
• Social: you tend to enjoy helping, teaching and looking after people.
• Enterprising: you tend to enjoy leading, persuading and getting things off the ground.
• Conventional: you tend to enjoy order, detail and keeping systems running well.

Every type leads to good work, and none is more impressive than another. The test measures interest rather than ability, so a high score means you may enjoy that kind of work, not that you would already be good at it.

The science behind it

The six types come from John Holland, whose theory of vocational personalities and work environments first appeared in 1959. Margaret Nauta's review, published for its 50th anniversary, reports considerable empirical support for the RIASEC types and how they are ordered. She also notes that the central idea of a match between person and environment has support, but appears to have modest predictive power on its own.

Interests themselves seem to matter more than people assume. A meta-analysis by Christopher Nye and colleagues, spanning more than 60 years of research, found that interests are related to performance and persistence in work and study, and that the fit between a person and their environment predicted more than interest scores alone. James Rounds and Rong Su make a similar case, arguing that interests are often misunderstood and that their predictive power is overlooked.

Interests also tend to stick around. A review by Low and colleagues found that interests showed substantial continuity over time, with stability increasing sharply during the college years and staying high for the next two decades. This doesn't mean your interests won't change, and they are less settled when you are younger.

All of that research concerns the theory and established measures. It doesn't validate our test. Career Compass uses original questions written from the published RIASEC ideas, and those questions have not been independently validated. We don't publish accuracy figures for it, and we don't use anyone else's test questions.

What you can do with your result

An interest profile is most useful when you use it to go and find out more.

• Look at your top two types, and list jobs you know that seem to combine them
• Talk to one person who does one of those jobs, and ask what a dull Tuesday looks like
• Try something small: a short course, a volunteer shift or a side project

It also helps to add what else you know about yourself. Your values shape which jobs feel worth doing, so try the Core Values Expedition. Your preferences for pace and structure shape the sort of workplace that suits you, so try the Work Style Expedition. Both use Selfcarta's own questions, which are not yet independently validated.

Why there is no rater version

Most Selfcarta Expeditions let the people around you rate you. The Career Compass Expedition does not. It asks what draws you, and that's something you are best placed to report, so there is no rater version for this one. If you are also curious how others see your strengths at work, Second Sight is available on other Expeditions.