Development of the job description form: Its use in the functional categorization of professional jobs

The first phase of a government R&D laboratory's career guidance program is described. A joint Naval Weapons Center (NWC)-California State Polytechnic College effort, the program is aimed at aiding both the individual and the organization by achieving more effective placement of professional employees through career guidance and counseling. The first phase involved the development of a job description checklist and its use in the functional grouping of jobs held by employees hired four to nine years earlier as junior professionals. Five job types emerged from the study: Analyst, Design and Test-and-Evaluation Engineer, Supervisor-Project Administrator Applied Researcher, and Development Project Engineer. The tendency for persons with different educational backgrounds to pursue each of these job types was examined. Comparisons were also made of the distribution of the job types within the various technical departments at NWC.