Vocational interest differences among engineers employed in different functions

Abstract

Differentiating keys on the Strong VIB were developed for four groups of engineers—pure research (N = 28), applied research and development (N = 29), process and production (N = 30), sales and technical service (N = 66)—both by a discriminant function analysis on the eleven occupational groups and by scoring weights on the 44 occupational scales. On a cross-validation sample, the tetrachoric r between actual job function and predicted job function was .84 for each key, and overall accuracy of placement was 66-68%. Validity on a subsequent more generalized sample was .70 (tetrachoric r). "It has been possible by examining the interest profiles of persons performing different technical and engineering functions to develop special scoring keys which accurately discriminate among persons in these… major functions." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)