We surveyed 1,839 systems engineers to learn what personality traits and interests make them unique. Here are the results.


Holland Codes

Systems engineers are investigative and realistic

Systems engineers tend to be predominantly investigative individuals, which means that they are quite inquisitive and curious people that often like to spend time alone with their thoughts. They also tend to be realistic, which means that they often enjoy working outdoors or applying themselves to a hands-on project.

If you are one or both of these archetypes, you may be well suited to be a systems engineer. However, if you are social, this is probably not a good career for you. Unsure of where you fit in? Take the career test now.

Here’s how the Holland codes of the average systems engineer break down:


Big Five

The top personality traits of systems engineers are social responsibility and conscientiousness

Systems engineers score highly on social responsibility, indicating that they desire fair outcomes and have a general concern for others. They also tend to be high on the measure of conscientiousness, which means that they are methodical, reliable, and generally plan out things in advance.

Once again, let’s break down the components of the personality of an average systems engineer: