<p>Can anyone suggest any career or aptitude testing that might benefit a HS senior who has no idea of an intended career /college major. I realize things change and being undecided is ok and I am fine with this, but the college wants some sort of interest in order to assign/ advise him. Strong Math / Science kid, one time thought he was interested in medicine but after 3 hospital interships has decided that was not for him. Husband thinks he is an engineer in the making (husband is an engineer) son wants no part of that life. PLus college he will be attending does not offer an engineering degree. He truly has no idea where he wants to head. I was hoping a test of some sort might identify a preference or skill set. HS guidance has not been any help. thanks</p>
<p>I prefer the Myers-Briggs for this, but it tends to work better on adults whose attitudes are set. Skills one can change, but basic personality stays with you forever.</p>
<p>Some folks I know had a good experience with this organization:</p>
<p>Aptitude</a> Testing at the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation</p>
<p>Once he is in college he can probably take a battery of tests to identify his interests/aptitude et al through his school's carreer center/student services. Most entering students either don't have a major or will change majors somewhere along the way. This is where choosing electives to meet general graduation breadth requirements as a freshman and sophomore can lead to a major. Don't worry until he's undecided as a college junior or senior. I know an engineer/nurse couple whose son majored in philosophy and religious studies at a public U and who may become a minister- dad would have liked for his son to share his interests, but it didn't happen.</p>
<p>I've taken some for fun. Princeton review has one that seems alright. Every career they suggested wasn't even remotely appealing to me...except FBI agent (fun idea in theory but I couldn't do it in practice.)</p>
<p>I don't put much stock in these. The one I took in high school (I'm not sure which one it was - it was administered by my high school) said I should be a TV repairman. I'm probably the least mechanically inclined person I know, and I ended up majoring in business and becoming a lawyer. I don't even like to watch TV.</p>
<p>Aptitude testing is something completely different from the lists of "best careers" that typical HS tests produce.</p>
<p>Interests</a> vs. Aptitudes</p>
<p>
[quote]
Interests vs. aptitudes
Interests are the result of what you do, what you learn, and whom you know.
These factors change greatly from year to year as your knowledge and experience grows. It is difficult to be interested in something if, for example, you do not understand what it is. A job title such as marine biologist or industrial engineer does not say much about what that career is like, and so how could someone be truly interested in pursuing either of those careers?</p>
<p>Aptitudes are the result of inheritance and early development.
They are not changeable as interests are; our research has shown that a person's aptitudes stabilize at around age fourteen, and remain so for the rest of his or her life. They have little to do with what you know or learn, and our testing program can provide you with an objective source of information about your natural strengths, thus making educational and career planning more precise and effective.</p>
<p>Interests can be influenced by outside factors.
A person may not be interested in financial management because, for example, an acquaintance has that particular job and is dissatisfied or frustrated. Someone else might be interested in being a journalist because of a writer father. Dreams of becoming a mechanic can come from a favorite uncle who collects vintage cars. An interest in old cars or writing or finance could be guided by aptitudes into related directions more suited to natural abilities.</p>
<p>Aptitudes are innate abilities.
Dreaming of being a doctor or being the child of a surgeon does not mean you will have the necessary abilities to be a successful and satisfied physician. Identifying your natural strengths is a way to find out which careers are appropriate for you as an individual, regardless of any other factors.</p>
<p>If you have a strong interest in a particular career or occupation, that is something to consider. Your aptitude test results might be able to indicate which aspect to explore that would best suit you. Being a doctor is not the only role in the field of medicine, just as working in a classroom is not the only way of teaching.</p>
<p>Interest testing
We do administer an interest survey, the Self-Directed Search, as part of our testing program. We use it as a way to gain some insight into our client's present way of thinking about his or her future. We are often able to relate an interest to a career suggested by their pattern of aptitudes, and we are careful to emphasize the important differences between what his or her interests are and what their aptitudes are.</p>
<p>Exploring what your interests are and what types of careers match them is one way of making education and work choices. Additionally, being able to identify specifically why you are interested or uninterested in a career can be helpful in determining whether or not that career is appropriate for you. Aptitude testing is a very effective tool for educational and career selection, in that it provides an unbiased, factual representation of how you think and work.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My daughter took one of the career test in HS. She is the only one, out of her group of friends, that the test indicated to be a doctor. I guess the only thing she comes close to a doctor is watching Dr House on tv.</p>
<p>I also recommend the Johnson O'Connor test mentioned in post #3. It's expensive but high school students only take a "half" of the normal one. (at least if things still work the same way).</p>
<p>I think most of the career tests are bogus. When I was in grade school, I just picked the answers that would give me my preferred results, since I thought that in many (most?) cases the answer choices were false dichotomies and what they were supposedly measuring was transparent anyway.</p>
<p>Some possibilities, off the top of my head, for a math/science kid who doesn't want to be a physician or an engineer are: scientist, science writer, patent attorney, actuary (or a lot of things related to finance, really), economist, architect, math/science teacher, nurse, statistician. But, he has plenty of time to decide.</p>