Career aptitude testing

[marcy]

Have you ever taken any career aptitude testing? I've been in a job now for about 10 years and due to a number of reasons its time for a change. However, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. :silly:

I was looking at "What Color is your parachute" at B&N last night, and may get that. I noticed they have a list of career counselors in the appendix but am not sure of the cost of something like that. Is there a place (like a testing center) where you can take a aptitude test? Makes me miss my high school guidance office!

Or, if you changed careers how did you decide what you wanted to do?

[Carmen]

I read the What Color book, and met with a career counselor at my college when I was in graduate school. She told me that changing careers, especially once you are established in the current one, should be at least a year long process. She had tests and things that I could take, but I never did. Those tests would have pointed me in the right direction, but then she recommended that I do a lot of job shadowing and networking. (I have a small family, and everyone I knew at the time was also a teacher, so the whole networking and job shadowing thing just didn't seem like a possibility to me.)

There is also a book Discover What You're Best At (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684839563/qid=1115665106/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-0530110-8296805?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Linda Gale that I bought. It is full of aptitude tests that you give yourself.

Those things always point me right back to teaching though! :lol: Luckily, I finally found a teaching job that I enjoy, so I decided to stick with it.

[Roger]

God. I wish I had had (or had now) some career guidance. I pretty much hate what I do, but how do I replace the income...?

[Brooke]

God. I wish I had had (or had now) some career guidance. I pretty much hate what I do, but how do I replace the income...?

I'm in the same boat, Roger. I loved it when I was in college but I hate it now.

[Dennis]

I'm another in the same boat. I don't hate my job, but I want to do something else. And I'd be fine taking a pay cut, but the problem is working while I'm retraining/going to school or whatever.

Maybe we can share ideas on this.

Dennis

[EricaW]

Count me in with the wanting to do something else crew.

I'm having a hard time beacuse I don't want to go back to school and I will have to take a cut in pay.

[marcy]

At least we're not alone. Carmen, thanks for suggesting Discover What You're Best At (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684839563/qid=1115665106/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-0530110-8296805?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), I'll have to look for that. As for me I enjoy the actual work, but the work requires more travel than I enjoy now.

My thought was that if I could find what I want to do, maybe I could segue from my current job into something else at my company that will get me closer. That would then deal with the "quitting my job and going back to school" quagmire. My husband just did that post military career but the GI Bill was a lifesaver. I'm not sure how we could have done that without. I know personally that it would be difficult for me to focus on classes full time, and going part time takes way too long.

Good idea Dennis to share ideas on how to do this. Have any of you tried taking community college classes to see more about a career that you think you might enjoy?

[Suzi]

Oh do I ever need some ideas here! Julia is 2-1/2 and I feel like I MAY want to go back to work when she is in school but I have absolutely NO chance of employment in my former career where I live currently. If I go back to school for a masters I need to be thnking about it now and I have NO CLUE what I want to go to school for/do!! :tearhair: OY!!

[AahRee]

I'm in this boat, too. I'm not working right now, but I've started thinking that I really need to go back - at least part-time - sometime soon. However, I'll ski the snowy cliffs of hell before I'll go back to being a paralegal. :)

I'm in need of a good career guidance book, too. I wonder if there are any good online aptitude tests?

[bunkie68]

Hmm - a Google search pulled up this site: http://www.colorwize.com/index4.html. I took the free color/career test, but I have my doubts - it gives you your top 40 matches based on color preference, and my top 10 were:

1. postal clerks and mail carriers
2. file clerks
3. clinical laboratory technologists
4. private household workers
5. junior high/middle school education
6. medical/surgical assisting
7. child care aide/assisting
8. bookkeeping
9. special education (e.g., learning disabled or gifted)
10. pharmacy

Uh, postal clerk? I think not. :lol: About the only ones of the top 10 that sound remotely interesting to me are 3, 6 and 10. The rest? No way.

The Google search did pull up a bunch of sites - I'll have to check out some more....

[bunkie68]

Found a free test here: http://www.livecareer.com/ Of course, you only get a little information, they want you to pay to receive the full report. But I thought what I saw was interesting.

Highest Interest Scores

Your highest score was on Science, which means that you enjoy working with abstract ideas, scientific equipment, and mathematical logic and reasoning to solve practical or abstract problems. You also scored highly on Food Service, indicating that you like to be involved in the preparation, serving, or selling of food products. This includes selecting ingredients, creating menus, supervising kitchen staff, cooking, baking, and aspects of food service. Your high score on the Industrial Art scale means that you enjoy making or repairing things using machinery, or by hand. This includes activities like graphic design, illustration, creative advertising and marketing, sculpture, painting, among others.

Lowest Interest Scores

You lowest score was on Sales. You wouldn’t be satisfied in careers that involve selling merchandise or services. These careers involve understanding products and services, informing customers of their features, demonstrating products, and being persuasive with others. You also showed low interest on Administration, so you’re likely to be unsatisfied in careers where you organize the financial or day-to-day operations of a business or institution, supervise the activities of others, plan work schedules, and maintain records. Your low score on Assertive means that you wouldn’t enjoy working in situations where you were frequently required to assert authority over others, and to direct and monitor their work.

Very much me. If I were seriously looking to change career fields right now, I'd probably pay the $24.95 to get the full report.

[AahRee]

Lisa, I just took that one, too, and it was right on for me as well. Here's mine:
Highest Interest Scores

Your highest score was on Writing, which means that you enjoy creative or technical writing. You are also likely to be interested in a broad range subjects, so finding occupations that allow you to exercise these interests would lead to higher work satisfaction for you. You also scored highly on Art, indicating that you have a special appreciation for the arts, and enjoy participating in them. This may involve performing on stage, creating visual artwork, or other means of artistic expression. Your high score on the Personal Service scale means that you like interacting with others and providing the public with services involving personal contact.

Lowest Interest Scores

Your lowest interest score was on Clerical. You’re not likely to be fulfilled doing routine office work that involves filing, record-keeping, word processing, operating office machines, attending to details, and other repetitive office tasks. You also showed low interest on Systematic, so you dislike routine assignments in which order and persistent, steady effort are required. Job security is not so important to you. Plus, you can tolerate frequent schedule changes and situations in which you must make quick decisions. Your low score in Teaching/Social Service means that you wouldn’t enjoy careers where substantial time was spent instructing people in learning new things, helping people solve problems, and assisting others.

[Shanna]

anne - I'm a paralegal :lol: I'm going back to school this fall to get another degree :lol:

[Girlo]

You know, I took a very long, involved test like this in college...twice. :lol: Each time it came back with *one* option for a major - Materials Science Engineering. :dunno: I had to look up what this actually was! :lol: Then, I decided it wasn't for me. :lol:

I'm going to take the other 2 tests and see what happens.....

[Girlo]

Strange.....I took the color test and here's my top 10 -

1. law enforcement and administration
2. science education
3. animal sciences
4. math education
5. atmospheric science and meterology
6. parks and recreation
7. medical laboratory/technology
8. microbiology
9. applied mathematics
10. biology

My degree is in Zoology....and I seriously thought about teaching high school biology, and even took an education class to check it out! :eek: However....I don't think the people who wrote this test know how crap I am in math and that I had to take calculus 3x before I passed. :lol:
Btw, zoology is #14 on this list (out of 40) and library science is #19....and an MLS is what I would get if I ever go to grad school!

[Shanna]

1. INSPECTORS TESTERS AND GRADERS
2. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
3. BRICKLAYERS AND STONEMASONS
4. MANAGEMENT ANALYSTS and CONSULTANTS
5. MANUFACTURERS' SALES WORKERS
6. GENERAL MANAGERS and TOP EXECUTIVES
7. AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
8. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION / CONSTRUCTION SCIENCE
9. THEOLOGY - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
10. BROADCAST TECHNICIANS



Hrmmm... don't think so :scratch:

[eelyak]

My top 10 were:

1. UNDERWRITERS
2. DESIGN
3. ART EDUCATION
4. FINE ARTS
5. PURCHASING AGENTS AND MANAGERS
6. REPORTERS AND CORRESPONDENTS
7. AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS
8. RADIO / TELEVISION BROADCASTING
9. APPLIED DESIGN / CRAFTS ( e.g. ceramics glass and jewelry)
10. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL BUYERS