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Achievement Orientation

Work style · O*NET

Achievement Orientation is one of O*NET's work styles — the personality tendencies people bring to a job that affect how well the work is done , grouped under Proactive and Growth Oriented. O*NET describes it as: "A tendency to establish and maintain personally challenging work-related goals, set high work-related standards, and exert high effort toward meeting those goals and standards." It is rated for 891 occupations and ranks high among work styles by how much it matters on average.

How it's measured

O*NET scores each occupation on this work style with a Work Styles Impact (WI) value — higher means the style matters more to doing the work well. The figures here are those occupation-level scores: a description of which jobs lean on this trait, not a judgment about pay, difficulty, or whether a job is "good," and not a claim about any individual worker.

Economy-wide average 1.45 Mean across all 891 rated occupations
Range across occupations 0.20–2.91 Lowest to highest occupation score (spread 2.71)
Impact vs. other styles 69th pct Where this style's average ranks among all O*NET work styles

Occupations where this style matters most

The occupations that score this work style strongest.

Occupation Impact
Chief Executives 2.91
Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers 2.91
Fundraising Managers 2.91
Athletes and Sports Competitors 2.83
Fundraisers 2.79
Investment Fund Managers 2.60
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists 2.45
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric 2.45
Pediatric Surgeons 2.45
Sales Managers 2.45
Cardiologists 2.42
Coaches and Scouts 2.42
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel 2.42
General and Operations Managers 2.38
Marketing Managers 2.38
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents 2.38
Advertising Sales Agents 2.35
Natural Sciences Managers 2.35
Real Estate Sales Agents 2.35
Advertising and Promotions Managers 2.31
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 2.31
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products 2.31
Education Administrators, Postsecondary 2.28
Lawyers 2.28
Legislators 2.28
Management Analysts 2.28
Personal Financial Advisors 2.28
Producers and Directors 2.28
Treasurers and Controllers 2.28
Computer and Information Research Scientists 2.24
Computer and Information Systems Managers 2.24
Financial Quantitative Analysts 2.24
Financial and Investment Analysts 2.24
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers 2.24
Geneticists 2.24
Information Technology Project Managers 2.24
Insurance Sales Agents 2.24
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 2.24
Nanosystems Engineers 2.24
Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2.24
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 2.24
Sales Engineers 2.24
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes 2.21
Astronomers 2.21
Nuclear Engineers 2.21
Nuclear Power Reactor Operators 2.21
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 2.21
Project Management Specialists 2.21
Public Relations Managers 2.21
Architectural and Engineering Managers 2.17
Biostatisticians 2.17
Economists 2.17
Emergency Management Directors 2.17
Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar 2.17
Financial Managers 2.17
Industrial Production Managers 2.17
Operations Research Analysts 2.17
Physicians, Pathologists 2.17
Physicists 2.17
Preventive Medicine Physicians 2.17

Occupations where this style matters least

The occupations that score this work style weakest — where it is least central to the work.

Occupation Impact
Crossing Guards and Flaggers 0.20
Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners 0.22
Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants 0.22
Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers 0.23
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers 0.26
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products 0.27
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service 0.27
File Clerks 0.28
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers 0.28
Parking Attendants 0.28
Amusement and Recreation Attendants 0.29
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers 0.29
Dishwashers 0.29
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 0.30
Models 0.30
Packers and Packagers, Hand 0.30
Couriers and Messengers 0.31
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service 0.31
Cashiers 0.32
Gambling Dealers 0.32
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons 0.32
Parking Enforcement Workers 0.32
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 0.32
Hoist and Winch Operators 0.33
Meter Readers, Utilities 0.33
Helpers--Production Workers 0.35
Telephone Operators 0.36
Fast Food and Counter Workers 0.38
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors 0.38
Fishing and Hunting Workers 0.39
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians 0.40
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 0.41
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 0.41
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers 0.42
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 0.42
Machine Feeders and Offbearers 0.42
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians 0.42
Crematory Operators 0.43
Foundry Mold and Coremakers 0.43
Shampooers 0.43
Tire Builders 0.45
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment 0.46
Helpers--Roofers 0.46
Orderlies 0.46
Sewing Machine Operators 0.46
Slaughterers and Meat Packers 0.46
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders 0.49
Food Preparation Workers 0.49
Gambling Cage Workers 0.49
Conveyor Operators and Tenders 0.50
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 0.50
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant 0.51
Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants 0.54
Cooks, Fast Food 0.54
Nannies 0.54
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 0.54
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 0.54
Receptionists and Information Clerks 0.54
School Bus Monitors 0.54
Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping 0.56

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
Plain

Singulariki. "Achievement Orientation." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-styles/achievement-orientation

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Achievement Orientation. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-styles/achievement-orientation

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-achievement-orientation,
  title  = {Achievement Orientation},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-styles/achievement-orientation}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.