The World-of-Work Map organizes occupations into six clusters (parallel to John Holland's six occupational types), 12 regions, and 26 career areas (groups of similar jobs). It graphically shows how occupations relate to each other according to primary work tasks.
When an individual receives the results from any of ACT's career-related assessments (e.g., the ACT Assessment®, PLAN®, EXPLORE®, the Career Planning Survey, DISCOVER®), a personalized report is provided. This report suggests Map regions and career areas on the World-of-Work Map for more exploration.
The World-of-Work Map's career areas cover all U.S. jobs. A career area's location is based on its primary work tasks—working with:
- Data: Facts, numbers, files, business procedures
- Ideas: Knowledge, insights, theories, new ways of saying or doing something
- People: Care, services, leadership, sales
- Things: Machines, tools, living things, and materials such as food, wood, or metal
There are two versions of the Map—one designed for use by counselors, the other by students.