Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

What Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. does

Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. (PAR, Inc.) is a privately held Florida-based company that publishes and distributes the Self-Directed Search (SDS), a career assessment instrument built on John Holland's RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) theory originally published in 1970. The core product is a 250-plus question assessment that generates a three-letter Summary Code matched against more than 1,400 occupations in the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database, with report variants tailored to general adults (StandardSDS), students (StudentSDS), and military personnel transitioning to civilian careers (VeteranSDS). The company serves individual test takers, career guidance professionals, TRIO and GEAR UP federal student-support programs, First-Year Experience higher education programs, and parents through a combination of direct-to-consumer online sales, institutional subscriptions, and paper-and-pencil distribution.

PAR operates with an 8-person team out of Lutz/Tampa, Florida, and has accumulated more than 40 million SDS administrations across 50+ years. The instrument is available in over 30 languages and is supported by 3,500+ published research studies. Revenue is generated through four mechanisms: a $18.95 per-assessment consumer transaction, discounted Bronze Group subscriptions for frequent users, Silver Partnership accounts for organizations administering 300+ assessments annually (with co-branded web pages), and Gold Institutional unlimited-use subscriptions that include usage monitoring and data file exports. Distribution runs through the dedicated self-directed-search.com consumer site, the PARiConnect online assessment platform, paper-and-pencil format sales, and referral relationships with career and education associations including NCDA, O*NET, and NACE.

Name

Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

Legal name

PAR, Inc.

Website

https://self-directed-search.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Short description

PAR, Inc. publishes the Self-Directed Search (SDS), a 50-year-old RIASEC-based career assessment serving individual consumers, career counselors, and federal student-support programs via online, subscription, and paper-and-pencil channels from Florida.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Assessment Software

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Personality & Behavioral Assessments (BPACAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Assessment & Skills Profiling (Assessments for Transition) (BPACAOAG), Psychometric, Aptitude & Cognitive Ability Test Content (EDAGADAK)

Keywords

• Career assessment tools
• Personality assessment software
• Vocational interest inventory
• RIASEC career test
• Psychological assessment publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Partnership Account (Silver Tier): For organizations planning to administer the SDS 300 or more times. Includes customized partnership web page with organization's branding, logo, and instructions.
2. Individual Assessment Sales: Single-use online assessment at $18.95 per test taker. Customers pay by credit card or PayPal to access the assessment and receive a comprehensive customized report.
3. Group Account (Bronze Tier): Discounted pricing for organizations that administer the SDS frequently or need multiple administrations. Group accounts can designate an email address where clients' reports are sent.
4. Institutional Subscription (Gold Tier): Unlimited-use flat-fee subscription for school districts, colleges, universities, and enterprise organizations. Includes all Bronze and Silver benefits plus ability to monitor clients' usage and results and receive data files of assessment results for analysis.
5. Paper-and-Pencil Format Sales: Traditional paper-and-pencil version using StandardSDS Assessment Booklet with Occupations Finder and Educational Opportunities Finder, available for purchase through PAR product pages.
6. PARiConnect Online Platform Access: SDS Form R, 5th Edition available on PARiConnect, the company's online assessment platform, where users purchase administrations through their account.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. (PAR, Inc.) publishes and distributes the Self-Directed Search (SDS), a Holland RIASEC-based career assessment delivered as a 250+ question online tool, paper-and-pencil booklet, and digital administration via PARiConnect. The product generates personalized three-letter Summary Codes matching individuals to 1,400+ occupations in the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database and is available in 30+ languages. Revenue is generated through $18.95 individual self-serve purchases and tiered institutional subscriptions (Bronze, Silver, Gold).

Product overview

PAR's Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a career assessment ecosystem based on John Holland's RIASEC theory, available in online and paper-and-pencil formats. The core assessment generates one of three report variants (StandardSDS for general users, StudentSDS for high school and college students, VeteranSDS for military personnel) that link users to matched occupations via O*NET data. Companion tools include the Occupations Finder, Veterans and Military Occupations Finder (VMOF), and Educational Opportunities Finder. The SDS is delivered through the dedicated web application (app.self-directed-search.com) and PAR's PARiConnect platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• StandardSDS: Standard report format for the Self-Directed Search career assessment for general test takers.
• StudentSDS
• VeteranSDS

Products and services

• Self-Directed Search (SDS) A career assessment and exploration tool based on John Holland's RIASEC theory that matches aspirations, activities, and talents to career choices and educational opportunities. Available in online and paper-and-pencil formats for individuals, career guidance professionals, and institutions.
• StandardSDS Online report generated for general adult test takers upon completion of the SDS assessment, providing personalized Summary Code, occupation matches, salary data, and career exploration tools.
• StudentSDS Online report tailored for high school and college students, linking assessment results to programs of study, college majors, and occupations suited to the student's personality type.
• VeteranSDS Online report designed for transitioning active-duty military, veterans, and retirees that links former military job titles to civilian job titles and includes a transition planning checklist.
• SDS Form R, 5th Edition The most recent revision of the paper-and-pencil assessment booklet version of the Self-Directed Search, published in 2013 and available online via PARiConnect for digital administration and scoring.
• Occupations Finder A companion reference that allows users to look up occupations corresponding to their Summary Code. Revised in 2010 to include O*NET codes.
• Veterans and Military Occupations Finder (VMOF) A specialized finder that maps military job titles and MOS codes to civilian occupation equivalents for veterans transitioning to civilian careers.
• SDS Educational Opportunities Finder A companion resource that helps users locate educational programs of study matching their Summary Code, supporting career planning through college major selection.
• PARiConnect PAR's online assessment platform that hosts the SDS Form R, 5th Edition for digital administration and scoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ million administrations worldwide over 50+ years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CPP, Inc. (Myers-Brigg / MBTI): Publishes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the most widely used personality assessment in the world for career and development. Comparable to PAR because both monetize proprietary psychometric personality instruments through institutional and consumer channels, anchored by decades of brand recognition.
• Pearson Clinical (Strong Interest Inventory): Publishes the Strong Interest Inventory, the historical direct competitor to the SDS for career interest assessment used by counselors and institutions. Operates the same career-counseling channel, distribution through assessment platforms, and tiered institutional pricing.
• SIGI (Career Encoura / Kuder): Kuder offers career planning systems including SIGI and the Kuder Career Planning System, used in higher education for major and career selection. Directly comparable as a career assessment and exploration platform sold into the same college, FYE, and TRIO institutional segments.
• O*NET Interest Profiler: Free U.S. Department of Labor career interest assessment that the SDS explicitly benchmarks against on its own website. Operates in the same RIASEC-based framework and serves the same career-exploration use case, representing the principal free competitive substitute.

Emerging players

• 16Personalities (Neris Analytics): Popular free online personality test using a four-letter typology inspired by Myers-Briggs. Comparable as a consumer-facing personality assessment that captures the same career-self-discovery intent, but distributed virally on a freemium model rather than through institutions.
• Truity: Online assessment publisher offering the TypeFinder for career and personality using Holland RIASEC-inspired frameworks. Competes with SDS in the same direct-to-consumer career assessment segment with a modern web/app experience.
• CareerExplorer: Web-based career test that maps users to careers using a multi-factor personality and interest model. Comparable as a direct-to-consumer career assessment competing for the same high-school and college-student buyer as SDS.

Broad incumbents

• Hogan Assessments: Publishes a portfolio of personality assessments used primarily in corporate leadership selection and development. Overlaps with PAR in the personality assessment methodology space but is focused on executive and employee assessment rather than student career guidance.
• SHL (Assessments): Large psychometric assessment provider covering personality, ability, and behavioral assessments for enterprise talent decisions. Comparable as an established publisher of validated psychometric instruments sold into organizations, though focused on workforce rather than student career guidance.
• ACT (ACT Interest Inventory / Career Curriculum): Major U.S. educational testing organization that publishes interest inventories and career exploration tools used in high schools. Comparable as a provider of career assessment content distributed through the same K-12 and TRIO/federal-program channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PsychAssessment
• Facebookfacebook.com/Self-Directed-Search-32795201251
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/self-directed-search

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.