What Are the Best Careers for the Realistic Holland Code? Realistic Personality Type Jobs

Have you always loved working with your hands? Do you enjoy practical tasks that make you see the results of your labor right away? Does an office job sound too speculative and meaningless? If this strikes a chord, you probably fall under the realistic personality type category within John Lewis Holland’s theory. 

This article will help you determine if this is your type and discover the career paths you can follow to flourish as a person with the Realistic Holland Code. Because pure types are rare, we will also speak about combinations of Holland’s codes and different professional choices so that you can find a vocation that fits like a glove.

The Realistic Personality Type: A Quick Refresher

In the 1950s, researchers became interested in how people decide on a career and what makes a job perfect for someone. For that purpose, Holland produced a user-friendly test categorizing people into one of six personality types (or codes). His model is known under the acronym RIASEC. Since then, the test’s reliability has been extensively confirmed in research and practice. You can learn more about how and why the RIASEC model was developed in our Holland Codes Career Test article. 

Among the six foundational personalities of Holland’s model is the one that brought you to this article — the realistic personality type, also known as the Builder personality type. According to Holland, vocational interests are the expression of personality in work. 

And how is the Realistic Holland Code expressed? 

Task orientation and a preference for hands-on activities are typical of this personality. They like to touch, see, and shape things. When learning, the realistic personality type prefers to do so by trial and error in practical settings. Debates, discussions, and exchanges of elusive ideas are not for them. Overall, this personality type thrives in environments that provide concrete and tangible assignments and outcomes. 

Let’s delve deeper into how you can recognize if your personality fits this code.

Best Careers For Realistic Personality Type

The question of a supreme career choice is not straightforward. Different individual factors also affect the careers for realistic personality types. 

For example, research revealed different pathways to developing realistic personality types and realistic careers for males and females. Moreover, other personality traits also impact how your Realistic Holland Code is manifested in your life. Finally, the work environment in itself also affects how well particular realistic personality type jobs match your personal dispositions. Still, based on decades of research, we know that jobs for the realistic personality type need to fulfill certain characteristics if they are going to be a good match.

• They are the careers that allow you to witness the fruits of your labor.
• Careers for realistic personality types will challenge your practical thinking and stimulate you to engage and focus on problem-solving.
• Holland code jobs are those that require self-directiveness, perseverance, and courage to pursue the path to achievement.

So, what are the realistic jobs you might enjoy?

Ideal jobs for the realistic personality type are:

• Electrician
• Plumber
• Carpenter
• Mason
• Construction worker
• IT specialist / Computer support technician
• Architect
• Sports coach
• Fitness trainer / Personal trainer
• Physical education teacher
• Medical technician
• Laboratory technician
• Food science technician
• Environmental technician

How Do I Know If I Have A Realistic Personality?

People with a realistic personality type share some traits that make them the “Doers” they are. Here are some foundational characteristics that should help you determine if you have a Holland Realistic Personality.

• The realistic personality type is mainly very physical and concrete. They love to build, solve practical problems, engage in all sorts of physical activities, and work with their hands and bodies.
• This type will often prefer the company of materials, objects, tools, animals, and nature to that of people and ideas.
• A typical realistic personality is very independent. Although they can cooperate with others, they prefer and excel in tasks they can do on their own.
• The Holland Code Realistic personality is usually assertive, down-to-earth, and may even appear competitive and calculated. However, this is often a misperception caused by their practical and goal-focused nature.

This description is based on Holland’s work and can guide you in exploring whether you are a realistic personality. Some of these descriptions probably resonated with you. However, the only way to find out if you truly are a realistic personality type is to take a “Realistic Personality Test”. 

The added perk of taking a career interest test is learning about your secondary and tertiary Holland codes. As we said in the introduction, there is a low probability of having a pure Realistic Holland code. You are likely simultaneously inclined towards one or two other groups of interests and values, albeit to a lesser extent. The test results will help you understand your vocational preferences and choose the ideal career for yourself.

RIASEC Code Combinations for Realistic Personality Type

We are highly complex beings. It is well-known that sorting people into a handful of categories usually doesn’t quite work. Therefore, you might not have found yourself in the “pure” realistic personality type jobs above. 

RIASEC code combinations shed better light on realistic personality type interests and career preferences. Let’s look at the main mixes of secondary personality traits in Holland’s model and suggest a few careers that are a good match for those combinations.

Realistic - Artistic Careers: RIASEC CODE RA Jobs

The artistic trait adds the need to express one’s creativity to the mix. Some of the careers that would be a good fit for someone who is both realistic and artistic are:

• Landscape architect
• Tailor
• Chef
• News photographer
• Potter

Realistic - Investigative Careers: RIASEC CODE RI Jobs

Investigative type jobs are those that revolve around abstract thinking, observation, and working with ideas. Therefore, the combination of those traits with those of the realistic personality produces careers such as:

• Meteorologists
• Service technicians
• Animal breeders
• Veterinarians
• Automotive or aerospace engineers

Realistic-Social Careers: RIASEC CODE RS Jobs

While the realistic and social personality types are on opposite sides of the Holland hexagram —and considered to be inconsistent personality types — it is not uncommon for a person to have traits of both. When the social trait also characterizes a realistic personality type, there is a desire to help others—using their realistic traits for the good of people. Some of the preferred careers might include:

• Firefighter, policeman, lifeguard, or other protective services
• Ambulance driver
• Bus driver
• Career and technical education teacher

Realistic - Enterprising Careers: RIASEC CODE RE Jobs

The enterprising trait makes a dominantly realistic personality type take on more managerial and competitive roles, such as:

• Professional athlete and competitor
• Construction manager
• Sales worker

Realistic-Conventional Careers: RIASEC CODE RC Jobs

People with conventional traits tend to be systematic and well-organized. The combination of the two Holland codes results in occupations like:

• Pilot
• Food preparation worker
• Groundskeeping worker
• Tile layer
• Agricultural worker
• Assembler

This list of combinations is still not exhaustive, either in terms of all the different jobs for these two-letter personality combinations or in for the wide range of combinations that there are. For example, a person could have Realistic as their secondary trait, which would make their career interests different. 

But more importantly, there is also the third-level trait that makes things even more complex. When you include the tertiary personality trait, there are 20 different combinations with the Realistic personality in the primary spot! 

When you take a Holland Career Personality Test, you make sure that your specific combination of traits, values, interests, and preferences is taken into consideration.

What Career Should I Go Into If I Have a Realistic Personality?

Our jobs take up at least one-third of our adult lives. Therefore, to be happy with your life, you need to be pleased with your career. Research has revealed that our well-being depends on finding fulfillment in what we do — and having careers that match our personality. 

And how will you hit the bull’s eye with your career choice? By taking the science-based Realistic Personality Test and discovering the RIASEC code combinations that describe your unique set of traits. Find out who you are as a professional and reach for your ideal calling.

Learn more about the best careers for other Holland RIASEC personality types: 

• Investigative
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional