Development of a Short Version of the Jackson Career Explorer: The JCE Mini

The purpose of the present study was to create a shorter and contemporary version of the Jackson Career Explorer (JCE), titled "The JCE Mini". Utilizing archival data of people who had completed the JCE (N = 3105), half of the sample was used to develop shorter, three-item scales, and the second half was used to validate the shorter measure (102 items) with additional self-report responses. The JCE Mini showed good internal consistency for most scales and good convergent validity with other career inventories. Correlations with a personality measure were consistent with previous research of the full JCE. In Study 2, a new scale was created to assess an interest in technological careers to improve the JCE Mini's relevance to the current job market by testing six new items. In addition, we tested 20 new items in nine scales that were updated to reflect changes in the workplace and improve the psychometrics of the scales. The new sample (N = 609) completed 102 items from the JCE Mini of Study 1 and 26 new items. Results suggest that the new JCE Mini, consisting of 105 items that assess 28 work roles or specific careers (one more than the original JCE), and seven work styles demonstrate good internal consistencies for the scales and good convergent validity.