How Holland's six career codes — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional — map student profiles to real-world career pathways.
RIASEC — also called Holland Codes, after psychologist John Holland — is one of the most widely used career counseling frameworks in the world. Holland's theory holds that people can be described by a combination of six personality types, and that career satisfaction increases when a person's type aligns with their work environment.
DetermiNext's AI uses RIASEC codes as the bridge between a student's PINS profile and specific career recommendations. After the PINS assessment, the AI identifies the student's primary and secondary RIASEC codes, then maps them to career clusters, job titles, and postsecondary pathways appropriate for their interests and strengths.
Realistic types prefer practical, hands-on work with tools, machines, or the outdoors. They tend to be straightforward problem-solvers who value concrete results over abstract theory.
Example careers: Mechanic, electrician, engineer, surveyor, farmer
Investigative types enjoy intellectual exploration, research, and solving complex problems. They are often independent workers who are driven by curiosity and analytical thinking.
Example careers: Scientist, researcher, analyst, physician, programmer
Artistic types value creativity, self-expression, and originality. They often prefer unstructured environments that give them freedom to create and innovate.
Example careers: Designer, writer, musician, actor, architect
Social types are people-oriented — they enjoy helping, teaching, and working collaboratively. They tend to be empathetic, communicative, and motivated by positive impact on others.
Example careers: Teacher, counselor, nurse, social worker, coach
Enterprising types are natural leaders and persuaders. They enjoy taking initiative, managing others, and pursuing goals through influence and negotiation.
Example careers: Manager, entrepreneur, lawyer, salesperson, executive
Conventional types prefer structured, detail-oriented work with clear procedures and expectations. They tend to be organized, reliable, and skilled at systematic tasks.
Example careers: Accountant, data analyst, administrator, auditor, paralegal
IDEA requires that postsecondary goals be based on age-appropriate transition assessments. RIASEC-based career matching is a widely accepted form of career interest assessment used in formal transition planning. By grounding DetermiNext's recommendations in established RIASEC theory, the assessment output is defensible as a documented age-appropriate assessment for Indicator 13 purposes.
The PINS assessment doesn't ask students about RIASEC codes directly. Instead, the 20 questions capture behavioral preferences, activity preferences, and self-reported strengths — and the AI identifies which RIASEC codes best characterize the resulting profile.
A student whose PINS responses show high preference for hands-on work, outdoor activities, and building things will be mapped primarily to Realistic (R) and possibly Investigative (I). The AI then surfaces job titles, career clusters, and postsecondary education paths known to align with that R/I profile — giving the teacher a concrete, student-grounded set of postsecondary goals to work from.
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