The Development of an Occupational Classification and Scales

126 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006.The present study develops an occupational classification that represents the US workforce and links to the Standard Occupational Classification, a unified coding system used by the US government agencies to collect occupational information. The occupational classification is based on college students' preferences for the occupational titles in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1996, 2004). Cluster analyses were used to classify the 337 occupations, representing approximately 88% of the US workforce, into 31 occupational groups and 10 broader occupational interest areas. The study provided reliability and validity information to support the use of the 31 interest scales derived from the occupational groups. Multidimensional scaling applied to the relations among the 31 interest scales yielded a three-dimensional configuration. The dimensions of the three-dimensional model were found to be People vs. Things, Dynamic vs. Structural, and Prestige. Sex type was also found in the three-dimensional model. The study results provide a three-dimensional occupational interest model of occupational groups with direct linkages to the occupational information collected by the government agencies. The occupational interest scales can be used to help individuals identify their vocational interests. Furthermore, the results stress the importance of considering prestige and sex type associated with occupations when assisting individuals explore their occupational choices.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD