Investigative
Holland interest type (RIASEC) · O*NET
Investigative is one of the six Holland (RIASEC) interest types O*NET uses to describe the kind of work a person is drawn to. O*NET describes it as: "Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service." It is scored for 923 occupations, which average 3.36 out of 7 on the Occupational Interest scale.
How it's measured
O*NET scores each occupation on this interest on a 0–7 Occupational Interest (OI) scale, where higher means the work more strongly rewards this interest. The figures here are those occupation-level scores — a description of what kind of work each job involves, not a ranking of which job is better, harder, or higher-paid.
| Economy-wide average | 3.36 / 7 | Mean across all 923 scored occupations |
| Range across occupations | 1.00–7.00 | Lowest to highest occupation score (spread 6.00) |
| Prevalence vs. other interests | 95th pct | Where this interest's average ranks among all O*NET interest dimensions |
Occupations that fit this interest best
The occupations that score this interest strongest on the 0–7 scale.
| Occupation | Score |
|---|---|
| Astronomers | 7.00 |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 7.00 |
| Bioinformatics Scientists | 7.00 |
| Biologists | 7.00 |
| Biostatisticians | 7.00 |
| Clinical Neuropsychologists | 7.00 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 7.00 |
| Economists | 7.00 |
| Environmental Economists | 7.00 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 7.00 |
| Epidemiologists | 7.00 |
| Geneticists | 7.00 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 7.00 |
| Industrial Ecologists | 7.00 |
| Mathematicians | 7.00 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 7.00 |
| Microbiologists | 7.00 |
| Neurologists | 7.00 |
| Neuropsychologists | 7.00 |
| Physicians, Pathologists | 7.00 |
| Physicists | 7.00 |
| Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists | 6.99 |
| Data Scientists | 6.98 |
| Allergists and Immunologists | 6.95 |
| Animal Scientists | 6.93 |
Occupations that fit this interest least
The occupations that score this interest weakest — where the work rarely rewards it.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Investigative." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/interests/investigative
Singulariki. (2026). Investigative. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/interests/investigative
@misc{singulariki-investigative,
title = {Investigative},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/interests/investigative}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.