Career clarity, backed by data
Career Keel helps you understand who you are at work — and match that to real occupations, ranked by fit.
Why Career Keel?
Most career assessments give you a four-letter personality type and a vague list of "suitable careers." That's not enough. Knowing you're an INTJ doesn't tell you whether to become a data scientist or a civil engineer.
Career Keel measures your interests across six dimensions, then combines them with your work values — what you actually need from a career to feel satisfied — and matches the result against 922 real O*NET occupations, each with a specific percentage score.
The result isn't a label. It's a ranked list of real careers, specific strengths and blind spots, a personalized analysis of your unique profile, and a clear picture of the work environment where you'll thrive.
72
Questions across 6 interest dimensions
8
Work values measured through forced-choice ranking
922
O*NET occupations scored against your profile
~10
Minutes from start to complete career profile
The Science Behind It
Career Keel draws from established frameworks in vocational psychology and occupational research.
RIASEC Model
Our six interest dimensions are rooted in John Holland's RIASEC theory — one of the most validated frameworks in vocational psychology. Holland found that people and work environments can both be characterized along six core interest types, and that people thrive when their type matches their environment.
O*NET Occupational Data
The Occupational Information Network (O*NET), maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides detailed interest profiles for hundreds of occupations. We use this data to score all 922 occupations against your profile — mapping your dimension scores to the interest requirements of each career.
Work Values Research
Research consistently shows that career satisfaction depends not just on what you enjoy, but on what you need from work. Our 8 work values dimensions are drawn from the Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment and related research on job satisfaction predictors. Values are captured via forced-choice ranking to reduce bias.
How the Matching Works
Raw scores → normalized 0–100
Your responses to 12 questions per dimension (including 3 reverse-coded) are summed and normalized to a 0–100 scale. Validity checks flag inconsistent response patterns.
Profile shape identified
Your score distribution is categorized as Specialist (one dominant dimension), Dual Focus (two strong dimensions), Generalist (balanced across many), or Polarized (very high and very low dimensions). This shapes how your results are interpreted.
Each occupation scored
Each of 922 O*NET occupations has an interest profile mapped by SOC code group/subgroup. We calculate a match score by comparing your dimension scores to each occupation's ideal profile using cosine similarity, weighted toward high-scoring dimensions.
Values refine the ranking
Your work value scores adjust career rankings. Two people with identical interest profiles but different values — one prioritizing autonomy, one prioritizing collaboration — will see different top matches. Values are blended into the final score, not just shown separately.
Free, forever — no tricks
The full quiz, your complete results, all 922 career matches, the AI analysis, retake history — all free, always. No credit card, no time limits, no freemium bait-and-switch.
Premium ($29, one-time) adds PDF exports, salary data, career filters, and an AI LinkedIn bio for people who want those specific tools. Everything else stays free.
Take the Free Quiz