Journal profile · PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Journal of Vocational Behavior
ISSN 0001-8791 · eISSN 1095-9084 · Elsevier
Journal of Vocational Behavior: CAS Zone 1 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.88; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,690; review about 417 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 67 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Vocational Behavior is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior, Career Development and Diversity and Gender Diversity and Inequality, together about 38.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Vocational Behavior publishes original empirical and theoretical articles that contribute novel insights to the fields of career choice, career development, and work adjustment across the lifespan and which are also valuable for applications in counseling and career development programs in colleges and universities, business and industry, government, and the military.The Journal primarily focuses on investigations of individual decision-making about work and careers rather than studies of employer or organizational-level variables. Example topics include initial career choices (e.g., choice of major, initial choice of work or organization, organizational attraction), the development of a career, work transitions, work-family management, work adjustment and attitudes within the workplace (such as work commitment, multiple role management, turnover).Editors will consider manuscripts that make significant contributions to the literature in the following areas: Studies of individuals' career and work-related choices examining topics such as: • Theories of career choice; occupational interests and their measurement • The inter-relation of abilities, needs, values, and personality • Occupational aspirations and the vocational decision-making process • Career adaptability; vocational development processes and stages • The effects of culture, demographic variables, and experiential factors on vocational choice • Career exploration • Job search • Organizational socialization. Studies of work decisions and adjustment within the workplace, investigating topics such as: • Job performance and satisfaction • Career success; • Theories of work adjustment • Adult vocational development and career patterns • Organizational commitment and job involvement • Multiple-role management and the work-family interface • Work-role salience • Culture, demographic variables, and experiential factors on workplace decisions • Work-leisure relations • Midlife career change • Occupational re-entry and transition from work to retirement. • Individual job characteristics and job design. • Work-related stress and well-being. The journal also publishes research on career interventions; mentoring; and psychometric research that reports the construction and initial validation of new inventories as well as studies that evaluate the reliability and validity of instruments that measure career related constructs. Please note: the Journal does not publish research on organization-, team-, or group-level variables nor does it publish studies on vocational education.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Editor-in-chief R. DuffyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 9 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United States 88, Australia 22, United Kingdom 14, Switzerland 10, Mainland China 9 (196 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorBusiness, Management and Accounting15.6%
- Career Development and DiversitySocial Sciences15.6%
- Gender Diversity and InequalitySocial Sciences7%
- Higher Education and EmployabilitySocial Sciences6.8%
- Work-Family Balance ChallengesSocial Sciences6.4%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions4.3%
- Education, Achievement, and GiftednessPsychology4%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Applied | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 6.88LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.08LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 278OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,115OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 42.77%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 53LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,057 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 20 | 15 |
| 2025 | 67 | 42 | 327 |
| 2024 | 63 | 37 | 899 |
| 2023 | 65 | 31 | 1,620 |
| 2022 | 92 | 31 | 2,283 |
| 2021 | 100 | 39 | 4,258 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
417 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 90 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 417 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,690 / EUR 4,390 / GBP 3,750 / JPY 581,700 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,050 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- organization-, team-, or group-level research
Article types accepted3
- hypothesisPlease note that submitted manuscripts must not exceed 50 double-spaced pages including all references, tables, and figures. Exceptions may be made at the discr…Length not stated
- results-masked reviewed (rmr) articleResults-Masked Reviewed (RMR) Article (click here for more details). These submissions are initially sent for review without the results, discussion or conclusi…Length not stated
- reviewPlease note that submitted manuscripts must not exceed 50 double-spaced pages including all references, tables, and figures. Exceptions may be made at the discr…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Neutral position on territorial disputes or jurisdictional claims Model summary
Elsevier respects the decisions taken by its authors as to how they choose to designate territories and identify their affiliations in their published content. Elsevier’s policy is to take a neutral position with respect to territorial disputes or jurisdictional claims, including, but not limited to, maps and institutional affiliations.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0001-8791
- Electronic ISSN
- 1095-9084
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Vocational Behavior
What CAS zone is Journal of Vocational Behavior in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Vocational Behavior is in Zone 1 of Psychology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Psychology, Applied; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Vocational Behavior?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.88; CiteScore 10.2, h-index 278.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Vocational Behavior?
The publisher reports about 417 days (submission to acceptance). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Vocational Behavior?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Vocational Behavior based?
Of the 196 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 9 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (88), Australia (22) and United Kingdom (14). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Vocational Behavior?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Vocational Behavior is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Vocational Behavior open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Vocational Behavior is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,690.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .