The Self-Directed Search

The SDS is a career interest inventory developed by Dr. John Holland, whose career theory is widely used by career counselors and coaches around the world for working with clients who are pursuing career changes. People can be categorized with respect to six career types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional. These types are often represented as the vertices of a hexagon, and the theory says that most people have a strength in one of these areas, with secondary strengths in adjoining vertices on the hexagon. For example, I'm an IAS. The data collected from the SDS over the years suggests that people with a certain SDS three-letter code are more likely to be happy working in certain careers than in others. Your SDS report will suggest careers that you may want to consider. Note that the SDS doesn't indicate a natural aptitude for a certain career, or the possession of the skills needed to be successful in the career; it will however tell you whether a person like yourself is likely to be happy with the career in question.

You can take the SDS at this web site for only 9.95USD; the website also has a sample report so you can see what you're getting into before you pay for the report. Once you've identified careers you're interested in, you can investigate them further at the O*Net website at this link. Good luck with your search!