Jackson Vocational Interest Survey

The Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS) is a comprehensive, gender-fair education and career planning tool designed to pinpoint which academic and professional fields match an individual’s unique interests. Geared toward individuals aged 14 and older, the assessment consists of 289 pairs of statements in a forced-choice format, requiring the test-taker to choose between two equally popular activities. Written at a 7th-grade reading level, the test takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and is highly suited for individuals tracking toward a university degree or considering a career pivot. The detailed report charts general occupational themes, workplace environment preferences (such as job stability), and similarities to 17 university major clusters and 32 occupational groupings.

There are over 36,729 possible careers in North America today, and over 284 academic majors. A few will make you very happy. The rest may leave you feeling unsatisfied and trapped. How will you find the one that is best for you? Taking a career test can help.  The JVIS is an education and career planning tool. It provides a detailed snapshot of your interests and how they relate to the world of study and work. It will focus your search for professional and academic satisfaction. You’ll have access to links, resources, and industry contacts to help you learn more about the careers and university majors that will help you make the most of your time and talent.

Description

The JVIS is a comprehensive, accurate, gender-fair assessment that pinpoints which academic and career fields would be best suited for individuals, based on their unique sets of interests. It is well suited for people whose career path includes a four-year university degree. It is also appropriate for individuals considering a mid-career change.

The JVIS consists of 289 pairs of statements describing job related activities and requires approximately 45 minutes to complete. Administration is available in both English and French. The JVIS employs a forced-choice format, asking the respondent to indicate a preference between two equally popular interests. The detailed JVIS report includes the basic interest profile, a profile for 10 general occupational themes, a profile of similarity to 17 educational major field clusters, a ranking of 32 occupational group clusters, validity scales, an academic satisfaction score and other information. A narrative summary of the 3 highest-ranked educational and occupational clusters is particularly useful. Finally a section entitled “Where to Go From Here” offers information on related career exploration books and activities.

The JVIS assesses work roles (for example, engineering), and work environment preferences (for example, job stability), as well as measuring potential academic satisfaction. The detailed report also provides links, resources, and industry contacts to help individuals learn more about their highest ranked careers and university majors.

The JVIS manual and several research studies provide strong support for the reliability and validity of this carefully constructed assessment. The testing platform is a powerful interface built specifically for counsellors, allowing you to administer assessments remotely, manage client accounts, and view clients’ reports.

Applications

• Career and educational counselling with high school, college and university students
• Career planning for adults, including mid-life career redirection
• Valuable for corporate restructuring

What It’s Best Used For

• Educational counseling for students: Helping high school, college, and university students align their personal interests with potential post-secondary majors and courses of study.
• Guiding adult career redirection: Supporting adult clients through mid-life career changes by mapping out transferable vocational motivations.
• Managing corporate restructuring: Assisting businesses undergoing organizational updates or workforce changes to reallocate internal talent effectively.
• Predicting academic satisfaction: Using tailored scoring frameworks to gauge how fulfilled an individual is likely to feel within specific degree programs before they enroll.
• Providing structural next steps: Offering career coaches and individuals localized research prompts, exploration activities, and career books via its custom “Where to Go From Here” segment.

Administration Languages

• English
• French (Canada)

Report Languages

• English
• French (Canada)

Jackson Vocational Interest Survey Manual

The JVIS Manual, Second Edition, incorporates a number of changes including a description of the new norms based on a sample of 3,500 individuals, additional reliability analyses, descriptions of the computerized reports (Extended and Basic), and an up-to-date section of research on the JVIS. This Manual is a valuable resource for any user of the JVIS!

Reliability and Validity

The JVIS manual provides thorough documentation on the reliability of the test. For example, the reliability of the 10 general occupational themes ranged from .82 to .92 with a median of .89. Median test-retest stability of the 34 basic interest scales was .84 to .88 with different samples. Examination of internal consistency yielded a median coefficient of .84.

Administration Overview

Qualification Level: A
Administer to: 14 years old and older
Administration time: 45 minutes
Number of items: 289 items
Reading Level: 7th Grade