e's various interests and appropriate career classifications for those interests. The original test had 420 items that then related to ten different occupational scales. In 1960, twenty "Basic Interest Scales" were added to assist in organizing the Occupational Scales and establish basic patterns related to the interests of those taking the test. In 1974, Holland Codes (from concepts used in Self-Directed Search methodologies) were added to give "the Strong" theoretical structure. The latest revision to the Strong Revision was published in 1994 and adds a comparison of one individual's pattern of responses to the pattern of responses of people of different types and in different occupations allowing for assumptions to be made about how people would match-up with those in their primary interest group.
             The six basic interest groups of the Strong Interest Inventory -- realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional -- indicate which interest groups and personality types are most common among people successfully employed in that particular field. Briefly, each of the categories includes information that explains the combination of characteristics that result in certain attitudes and attributes:
             Realistic -- People with "realistic" interests most often enjoy creating things with their hands. They are often "outdoorsy," practical, physically strong and are often described as "rugged." In general, they much prefers hands-on tasks and working with objects, tools, machines and animals, rather than the abstractions of ideas and people.
             Investigative -- Investigative interests demonstrate that a person likes to analyze, solve problems, and do research. Their focus is on data, ideas and theories. They tend to be curious, original and independent, and prefer working alone rather than with others.
             Artistic -- Those people with "artistic" intere...