TPC-Journal-V5-Issue1

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 1 3 5. Enterprising (E) types like occupations such as buyer, sports promoter, business executive, salesperson, supervisor and manager. The E type usually has leadership and public speaking abilities, is interested in money and politics, and likes to influence people. The E type is described as acquisitive, ambitious, domineering, extroverted, optimistic, self-confident and sociable. 6. Conventional (C) types are found in occupations such as bookkeeper, financial analyst, banker and secretary. The C type has clerical and math abilities, likes to work indoors and to organize things. The C type is described as conforming, efficient, obedient, orderly, persistent, practical and unimaginative. The six RIASEC types are optimally represented by a circular order, also commonly referred to as the hexagonal model. Holland’s (1997) structure of the six types as a hexagon is one of the most well-replicated findings in the history of vocational psychology (Rounds, 1995). The six domains are arranged according to their relative similarity in a hexagonal formation of R-I-A-S-E-C. For example, according to Holland’s theory, the Social and Enterprising types appear in adjacent positions on the hexagon because they are alike; in contrast, the Social and Realistic types are dissimilar and appear in opposite positions from one another on the hexagon. Prior Studies In the early 1970s, researchers began to examine the U.S. labor market using the RIASEC classification system (Reardon et al., 2007), and the present study is a continuation of that line of research. Using data provided by the decennial census in 1960, 1970 and 1980, researchers (G. D. Gottfredson & Daiger, 1977; G. D. Gottfredson & Holland, 1996; G. D. Gottfredson, Holland, & Gottfredson, 1975; L. S. Gottfredson, 1978; L. S. Gottfredson, 1980; L. S. Gottfredson & Brown, 1978) analyzed U.S. employment patterns using Holland’s theory. These studies examined a number of variables with respect to the Holland RIASEC classification, including the percentages of men and women working in hundreds of occupations, salaries earned during the preceding year by incumbents, educational and training levels associated with occupations, occupational prestige, and the education levels or cognitive complexity ratings for occupations. These studies provided practitioners and scholars with more theory-based, detailed information about work environments and the characteristics of workers. After a 15-year hiatus in research on census employment and Holland codes, Reardon, Vernick, and Reed (2004) analyzed the 1990 census data in relation to data from 1960, 1970 and 1980. They considered the variables of gender, income and cognitive complexity and reported stability in the census data for occupational titles and six kinds of work from 1960–1990. For example, the Realistic area included many more named occupations in the census than the other five areas, averaging between 46% and 50% of all named occupations over the 40-year period. Reardon et al. (2004) found that while employment declined by 18% in the Realistic area relative to other Holland types, it remained the largest area of employment and actually increased in real numbers through 1990. Only 1% of employment was in the Artistic area. Reardon et al. (2004) also reported marked differences in employment between men and women across the six areas from 1960–1990. Reardon et al. (2004) further examined income and gender by six kinds of work and found that the average income profile ranging from highest to lowest was IESARC. The discrepancy across the six areas was very large, with the average Investigative income being two times the average Conventional income. In a later study, Reardon et al. (2007) examined trends in labor market characteristics using census data from 1960–2000. They found stability in occupational constructs for six kinds of work from 1960–2000; for instance, the Realistic area included many more named occupations in the census than the other five areas,