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Intellectual Curiosity

Work style · O*NET

Intellectual Curiosity 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 seek out and acquire new work-related knowledge and obtain a deep understanding of work-related subjects." It is rated for 891 occupations and ranks moderate 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 1.14 Mean across all 891 rated occupations
Range across occupations -0.50–3.00 Lowest to highest occupation score (spread 3.50)
Impact vs. other styles 45th 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
Allergists and Immunologists 3.00
Anthropologists and Archeologists 3.00
Astronomers 3.00
Biochemists and Biophysicists 3.00
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers 3.00
Bioinformatics Scientists 3.00
Biologists 3.00
Biostatisticians 3.00
Chemists 3.00
Clinical Neuropsychologists 3.00
Computer and Information Research Scientists 3.00
Data Scientists 3.00
Economists 3.00
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary 3.00
Financial Risk Specialists 3.00
Geneticists 3.00
Historians 3.00
Materials Scientists 3.00
Mathematicians 3.00
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 3.00
Microbiologists 3.00
Molecular and Cellular Biologists 3.00
Nanosystems Engineers 3.00
Neuropsychologists 3.00
Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary 3.00
Physicians, Pathologists 3.00
Physicists 3.00
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary 3.00
Political Scientists 3.00
Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary 3.00
Neurologists 2.95
Sociologists 2.90
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Geography Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers 2.72
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Natural Sciences Managers 2.72
Physics Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary 2.72
Blockchain Engineers 2.67
Education Teachers, Postsecondary 2.67
Epidemiologists 2.67
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 2.67
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists 2.67
Law Teachers, Postsecondary 2.67
Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary 2.67
Soil and Plant Scientists 2.67
Statisticians 2.67
Cardiologists 2.63
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary 2.63
History Teachers, Postsecondary 2.63

Occupations where this style matters least

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

Occupation Impact
Dishwashers -0.50
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners -0.47
Tapers -0.45
Amusement and Recreation Attendants -0.40
Telemarketers -0.40
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products -0.38
Food Preparation Workers -0.36
School Bus Monitors -0.36
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand -0.35
Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants -0.35
Data Entry Keyers -0.34
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers -0.34
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors -0.34
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers -0.33
Fast Food and Counter Workers -0.33
Gambling Cage Workers -0.33
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners -0.33
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers -0.33
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment -0.32
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant -0.32
Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers -0.32
Helpers--Production Workers -0.32
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop -0.32
Machine Feeders and Offbearers -0.32
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers -0.32
Packers and Packagers, Hand -0.32
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons -0.31
Parking Attendants -0.31
Helpers--Roofers -0.30
Parking Enforcement Workers -0.30
Postal Service Mail Carriers -0.30
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials -0.30
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders -0.29
Crossing Guards and Flaggers -0.29
Gambling Dealers -0.29
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service -0.29
Floor Sanders and Finishers -0.28
Models -0.28
Rock Splitters, Quarry -0.28
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders -0.28
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service -0.28
Cashiers -0.27
Helpers--Carpenters -0.26
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders -0.26
Slaughterers and Meat Packers -0.26
Stockers and Order Fillers -0.26
Taxi Drivers -0.26
Telephone Operators -0.26
Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity -0.24
Conveyor Operators and Tenders -0.24
Couriers and Messengers -0.24
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand -0.24
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers -0.24
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators -0.24
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators -0.24
Office Machine Operators, Except Computer -0.23
Sewers, Hand -0.23
Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping -0.23
Sewing Machine Operators -0.22
Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs -0.22

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. "Intellectual Curiosity." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-styles/intellectual-curiosity

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Intellectual Curiosity. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-styles/intellectual-curiosity

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-intellectual-curiosity,
  title  = {Intellectual Curiosity},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-styles/intellectual-curiosity}
}

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