career or aptitude test

Parent Cafe
1

<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>

2

<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>

3

<p>Some folks I know had a good experience with this organization:</p>

<p>[Aptitude</a> Testing at the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation](<a href=“http://www.jocrf.org/]Aptitude”>http://www.jocrf.org/)</p>

4

<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>

5

<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>

6

<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>

7

<p>Aptitude testing is something completely different from the lists of “best careers” that typical HS tests produce.</p>

<p>[Interests</a> vs. Aptitudes](<a href=“http://www.jocrf.org/about_aptitudes/interests.html]Interests”>http://www.jocrf.org/about_aptitudes/interests.html)</p>

<p>

</p>

8

<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>

9

<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>

10

<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>