A Fresno high school counselor gave her juniors the CDM-R. One student set on law scored highest in Scientific and Crafts and spent the summer shadowing a lab technician.
The Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-Making System, known as the CDM-R in its revised form, is a self-scored career assessment that links a person’s interests, values, and abilities to groups of occupations.
For the Fresno student, it did not dictate a career; it opened a door she had never considered.
Built on John Holland’s widely used theory of six interest types, it has been used in schools, colleges, and adult career services for decades.
The sections below explain how the CDM-R works, its interest areas and career clusters, who uses it, its strengths and limits, and how to use the results wisely.
Table of Contents
What Is the Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-Making System?
Counseling psychologists Thomas Harrington and Arthur O’Shea developed the Career Decision-Making System, first published in 1976, and later revised it, with the most recent print update dated 2005.
According to its publisher, Pearson, the CDM-R helps students and other career planners identify their occupational interests, values, and abilities.
Unlike tests that only measure interests, it also asks about preferred school subjects, work values, abilities, and plans, then connects all of these to career options.
It is designed for people aged 12 and older and typically takes 20 to 40 minutes. It is one of several tools that support the career decision-making process.
How the CDM-R Works
The assessment walks users through a sequence of steps, scoring each section themselves.
- Career choices: Users list occupations they are already considering.
- School subjects: They choose subjects they enjoy or do well in.
- Work values: They select values that matter most, such as job security, creativity, or helping others.
- Abilities: They identify skills they believe they have.
- Interest survey: They rate activities they like or dislike, which produces scores in six interest areas.
- Career clusters: The two highest interest scores point to a small set of career clusters to explore.
Because users score the survey themselves, they see how each answer leads to their results, which makes the process educational rather than mysterious.
The Six Interest Areas
The CDM-R reports six interest area scores, each matching one of the six types in John Holland’s RIASEC model, a framework also discussed in the factors behind career choices.
| CDM-R Interest Area | Holland Type | Typical Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Crafts | Realistic | Working with tools, machines, and physical materials |
| Scientific | Investigative | Researching, analyzing, and solving problems |
| The Arts | Artistic | Creating, designing, and expressing ideas |
| Social | Social | Teaching, helping, and caring for others |
| Business | Enterprising | Leading, persuading, and selling |
| Office Operations | Conventional | Organizing, recording, and managing data |
The CDM-R renames Holland’s types in plain career language, which helps younger users connect scores to real work.
The 18 Career Clusters
Research by Harrington and O’Shea explains that the CDM-R’s 18 career clusters were built by applying Holland’s classification to job groups.
A person’s two highest interest scores point to three or four clusters to explore.
For example, high Scientific and Crafts scores lead to clusters such as math and science, technical work, and skilled trades.
Within each cluster, job charts list occupations alongside the school subjects, values, abilities, and training they typically require.
Level 1 and Level 2
| Level 1 | Level 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for | Middle and junior high students, people with limited reading ability | High school and college students, adults with average or better reading ability |
| Reading level | About fourth grade | About sixth grade |
| Format | Single booklet with survey and job charts | Survey booklet plus separate interpretive folder |
Spanish and Canadian editions and an online version, CDM Internet, have also been offered.
Who Uses the CDM-R?
- School counselors use it in group sessions to introduce career exploration.
- College advisors use it with students choosing majors.
- Adult career services use it with job seekers, career changers, and returning veterans.
- Rehabilitation and workforce programs value its simple reading level and self-scoring format.
Students exploring options can pair it with the habits in skills for student success.
Strengths of the CDM-R
- Combines interests, values, abilities, and school subjects in one process.
- Self-scoring makes results transparent and engaging.
- Grounded in Holland’s well-researched RIASEC theory.
- Short and accessible, with a low reading level.
- Links directly to occupations and training requirements.
Limitations to Keep in Mind
Interest inventories describe what people like, not what they will be good at or what jobs are available.
Results can shift as people gain experience, especially for teenagers, so scores are best treated as a starting point.
Self-rated abilities may be inaccurate, since people tend to overestimate or underestimate themselves.
Availability has changed: the Buros Center for Testing notes Pearson reported the 2005 edition out of print in 2023, so confirm current availability with Pearson or a counselor.
It should never be the only basis for a career decision.
CDM-R vs Other Career Assessments
| Assessment | Main Focus | Cost and Access |
|---|---|---|
| CDM-R | Interests, values, abilities, and school subjects linked to career clusters | Purchased materials, usually through schools or counselors |
| O*NET Interest Profiler | Holland interest types linked to US occupations | Free online from the US Department of Labor |
| Strong Interest Inventory | Detailed interests compared with people in many occupations | Paid, usually interpreted by a certified professional |
| Self-Directed Search | Holland types, self-administered | Paid, available online |
Many counselors use more than one tool and look for patterns that repeat across them.
How to Use CDM-R Results Wisely
1. Treat Results as Suggestions
Use clusters as a list of options to explore, not a verdict.
2. Compare With Your Values
Check suggested careers against what matters to you, using ideas from defining what you value most.
3. Research Specific Jobs
Read job descriptions, pay data, and training requirements for occupations in your top clusters.
4. Test in Real Life
Shadow, volunteer, or take a short course in one suggested area, as the Fresno student did.
5. Discuss With a Counselor
A trained counselor can help interpret surprising results and connect them to next steps.
6. Revisit Through the Years
Retake the assessment after major experiences, since interests can change, especially in adolescence.
Results become most useful when paired with honest reflection and your own self-awareness.
Personality traits add another layer, explored in how personality fits careers.
Turning chosen options into plans is covered in setting career goals that work.
In my observation, the CDM-R’s greatest value is not the scores themselves but the conversations they start between students, parents, and counselors.
Conclusion
The Fresno student did not become a lawyer; she became a medical lab scientist, a path her CDM-R scores first suggested.
The Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-Making System links interests, values, abilities, and school subjects to 18 career clusters through a self-scored, Holland-based process.
It is a useful starting point for students and adults, but its results should be tested in the real world and weighed alongside other information.
If you have access to the CDM-R or a free tool like the O*NET Interest Profiler, complete it this week and research two occupations from your top results.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-Making System?
It is a self-scored career assessment, revised as the CDM-R, that links a person’s interests, values, abilities, and school subjects to career clusters.
What are the six CDM-R interest areas?
They are Crafts, Scientific, The Arts, Social, Business, and Office Operations, matching Holland’s Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional types.
Who is the CDM-R designed for?
It suits people aged 12 and older, with Level 1 for middle school students and Level 2 for high school students, college students, and adults.
Is the CDM-R still available?
The Buros Center reports that Pearson listed the 2005 edition as out of print in 2023, so confirm current availability with Pearson or a counselor.
Pious Clements writes about character, conduct, and the deeper questions of how a life is lived. He is the founder of The Conducts of Life, a site built on the belief that how you behave, not what you achieve, defines who you are. His writing draws from decades of observation, lived experience, and serious thinking about human nature, ethics, and self-development. He writes to be useful, not popular.