Our college/university counseling department offers it, think it is ~$50., one of our secretaries was looking for a new career path when she was not doing well in her academic program.

You might take a look at Queendom.com. Lots of tests are available there. A friend used several of them when he was looking for a second act and found them enlightening.

If it is what I think it is(a quite long battery of tests that you go through to give an interpreting specialist tools to advice you on your career) then yes I took it.

It was in another country and free of charge, a far as I recall-I was just back from the US, looking for a new job anyway, and I think it was a part of what employment bureau provided if somebody was interested in it.

It was a municipal, new state-of the art employment bureau, and had this huge room full of books describing all sorts of professions and specialities-you could have spend hours just there.

I decided to take the tests because I went through some things while here, they shook me, and I don't know why, I thought maybe changing direction professionally could be a part of some change.

It was shorter than other tests experience I had while much younger (the other ones were 8 hours, plus interpretation meeting later)..these took 4, 5 hours I think?

And within a month you come to hear the interpretation, and advice.

Well I can't say it was particularly interesting, all these tests, and part of them weren't as new to me either, but it was funny as hell during interpretation. Because they told me to keep doing what I'm doing, more or less, but to really try not to overexert myself lololol.

I did the Johnson O'Connor aptitude testing about 15 years ago, and was so convinced of the value that I subsequently had it done for both my teenage children.

The tests (at that time) took about a day and a half to complete, after which you returned for a comprehensive one-on-one explanation of the results, together with advice and counsel about your future choices.

It was deeply informative, entirely worth the expense for all three of us, was useful to each of us at the time, and it continues to be useful even 15 years later. This is not an "interest inventory" type of assessment, but something far deeper that helps you learn about your "strongest" and "weakest" aptitudes, things you're naturally good at and will gain most satisfaction and success by using in your life. It also helps you learn what's just not going to be enjoyable or successful for you even if you force yourself to do it.

I would recommend it for anyone, not just for career choices, but for other choices thru life.

I wonder my reply didn't show up?

eta, ah, now the reply to everyone appears.

I don't see your reply, bpath.

So I copied a reply of about 4-5 paragraphs, did that appear?

Ugh, sorry, no reply appeared, bpath.

Dang. Well, it's late for me and Houzz will probably either lose the entire thread or post them in the morning.

In the meantime, if anyone has anything to add about aptitude testing, the Johnson-O'Connor type or others that are in-depth, please do add! I'm reading!

I took one in college when I decided to drop out of the music program. Was offered by the counseling office. I don't know the name of the test. It was a free service to me as a student. It was not helpful because a major in college does not a career make. One of the best ones I have ever had experience with is the "Strength Finder" program by Gallup. It's a little like Myers-Briggs but more detailed. The theory behind that one is it is easier to plus your pluses than to overcome weaknesses. Better use of energy and resources. I found it helpful when looking for the kinds of jobs I would like, and also offers tips on how to highlight your strengths on the job. Lots of other resources available too.

The most useful thing I found was volunteering, internships and seasonal jobs. Not only great for networking, but I was eventually hired full time at a place where I worked seasonally. I remember thinking at the time I had the internship that my boss had my dream job. When he left they hired me.

My experience is that what you like on paper is not the same thing as experiencing it in real life. For example, on paper I was going to be a middle-school classroom teacher. When I did it in real life, I found the regulations too limiting and distracting. I used my aptitude for teaching and my love of science to become a college science teacher, where my ability to understand both teaching and research is a plus. I would not be happy doing just one, but the combination is my dream job. Following a similar path, I might have become a youth minister or teen volunteer coordinator for a non-profit. This would not necessarily be borne out by an aptitude test, which would show I had an aptitude for teaching. However, this Johnson O'Connor test sounds like it combines both, your aptitude and personality. That would be key for me evaluating career counseling. Also its ability to adapt to non cookie cutter information. That was likely the problem with the test I took in college. I'll bet the testing company sold their generic stuff to all kinds of career offices nationwide. I went to a huge university, I was moved through a computer program that was possible for everyone to use easily, but therefore not very tailored to anyone's particular situation.

Finding the combination of your personality and your aptitude is more of an art than a science. Trial and error is what I would recommend. Another example is my friend, who has a son who wanted to be a nurse. But he just wasn't able to focus on all the pre-nursing classes which aren't about nursing. He didn't have the patience for it starting out. He got his LPN license, started working, and then finished his RN over time by going to school part-time when not working. Plus he was able to live on his own in an apt. which suited him much better than college dorm life. But he still has the aptitude for nursing.

The Strength Finder program on your own is rather expensive. I got it for free as part of a leadership program. Another program I would recommend is anything by Barbara Sher. She is good at helping people come up with ways of implementing what they think they will like. She has many pieces online for free which might be enough for starters. Plus her books aren't that expensive and they have plans in them for implementation. An example would be "Wishcraft." You can get them at the library, and inter-library loan can get one for you that your local library might not have. Free.

Thanks, pink. I'll look into Barbara Sher. I just checked and our libraries have several of her books (including in Polish and Spanish!) and, for some reason, Horatio Hornblower on DVD came up in the list. Weird.

Personality is a big part of this, so the J-O'C may work well. I'm encouraged by Smiling's experience.

Absolutely. If the information is good enough to keep and have on hand and use over and over in life, that's a pretty good endorsement!

Smiling, thank you. I'm glad to hear you appreciated the test, and that your children have done it, too. I heard about it recently from an acquaintance, who had it done 30 years ago and is having his daughter do it.

Becky, that's a great story! It worked out for him in a big way!

April, I do worry about a similar outcome for our son: that the results will be for him to do something with math. Swell, he already does math, now what?!?

Smiling, when you say it was useful at the time and continues to be useful, can you explain? Did it assist one or more of you in pursuing coursework or choosing a school? In considering careers, or other life choices? Did you have subsequent follow-ups, after the initial summary session?

Another way to leverage information you find out about yourself and careers is to peruse job openings/advertisements in a field you would generally like to work in. Pick out jobs that read/sound like your dream job, and print them and save the descriptions and also the list of qualifications they say are needed. You can then go about ticking off the training and experiences you will need to get your dream job. This also helps to focus your "finding yourself" time and activities.

But really, for free in her book Barbara Sher talks about how you can find a job that mixes the elements of what you think you will like in your work and life. One example is a very introverted person I know who got his dream job of maintaining aquariums and plants at doctor's offices and other commercial spaces, which he did in the evenings when there were no customers. Who would have even imagined that there was such a job?! I have another friend with ptsd, who moved to a less populous state for work, which has improved his quality of life greatly. So the key for your "best life" can be quite varied, not just straight work skills. I have another friend who after years of trying to mold himself into what the system required of a classroom teacher, discovered how he could use his skills to help developmentally challenged adults succeed in transitioning to adult life. He's had great success with that, while no longer being unhappy and marginally competent as a classroom teacher. He was able to tweak his skill-set and aptitude to find a more perfect fit.

You can take the Briggs-Myers test for free, and I think that is a good place to start. You can find several versions of the test for free on line. I originally bought the book Please Understand Me, which had the test included, and I found my results to be very accurate.

Aptitude tests may tell you what you are good at doing, but that doesn't mean that you like doing them. I have an extremely high math aptitude (top 0.1%), but that doesn't mean that I ever wanted to be a mathematician - it just meant that it was easy for me. The aptitude tests I took scored me much lower in verbal aptitude (top 5%), and yet I now speak four languages, can read two more, and have a degree in German/English (double major). I always made high grades in language classes, but the aptitude tests did not predict that.

The Briggs-Myers test is a preference test and reveals what you like doing.

Lars, I'm happy to defer to your greater experience and better judgement about aptitudes, and will gladly delete my responses to bpath's questions. As i said there, YMMV, but I surely wouldn't wish to mislead anyone about JOC aptitude tests or M-B personality tests. Best wishes to all who consider either approach.

Smiling, please don't delete. All information is valuable.

Smiling, I saw your replies but did not save them. If you don't want to post them again, would you mind messaging them to me? I'd appreciate it.

All information that you all have given is valuable. Our son is not likely to read a book, so while I will be picking up Barbara Sher, it will be for me, not him. I will look into the Briggs-Meyer. Though, an online test risks not being well-received by DH, or by DS, both of whom will bristle at providing any information that they may perceive as being unsecure in an online setting. Also, I imagine a benefit of something like J-O'C is the summary afterwards, with an actual person.

And I'm not limiting to J-O'C, it's just that it arrived on my radar recently and I hadn't heard of that kind of thing outside of a university setting. So I'm ininformation-gathering mode.

Smiling, thank you for your information and take on the testing. As a lurker I was intrigued by your experience. Please do not for one minute think that another poster's information is more valuable - even though it is free.

Smiling, I am another one who appreciated your comments, and may have my children do the testing as well. I took the M-B in grad school and did not find it useful personally, though clearly the test helps clarify things for some people.

We had all 3 of our kids do JOC the summer before junior year in HS. Informative for all three! DH and I were tempted to do it ourselves!

Thanks, Sueb20! Say, your kids were minors, so were you there for the summary session?

I'm kind of tempted to do this, myself.

Yes, DH and I went to all the summary sessions.

Thanks, Sueb. Here's a question for all test-takes, Briggs-Meyers, JOC, or whathaveyou. I wonder if taking them at different ages, would reveal something different? Not that your aptitudes or interests change, but how one answers the questions? Or is that part of the tester's job? I know when DS underwent testing in HS, the tester included a great deal of information in his assessment comments that had to do with how DS answered questions.

I can only speak from personal experience-- the only thing that has changed for me over the years is that I lean more I (introvert) in my INTP typing. I only took JOC once so I can't compare but I can't really imagine it would change much.

One of my prior companies (a startup) did a brief stint with making potential candidates take the JOC test -- at our expense and with our trained (contract) consultant. We also had all our management team take it-- more or less for fun. I don't remember all the details but my results definitely didn't align with my (then and current) role. The results, like my Meyers-Briggs results DO align with my nature-- but I have opted to buck my natural callings in my current career. There are elements of my career that fit my aptitude and personality type but there are some that are contradictions. I have opted to give up the solitary, science/research realm I am suited to in order to have a career where I can make a decent living and live almost anywhere (but not really). When I interview people ask how did you go from neuroscience to airline reliability engineering to IT? My response is that it ALL about analyzing systems and logical outcomes. This is not only true but a response that works.

In the end, we all have to make decisions that balance all our needs-- not just the soul.

There is a book called "What colour is your Parachute" which should be available at your library. It's a self-help book for people looking a job that plays to their strengths. I read it years ago with my son in mind (he's not much of a reader) and it helped to guide him into a type of job rather than a specific job.

I took the M-B in grad school as well and retook it recently. The results were the same. I had a harder time answering the questions for some reason. I saw so many more possibilities and circumstances than before. ENTP in the mid 90s and ENTP now. (My husband in an ENFP.)

I am a JD/MBA who worked on politics and journalism with some time spent in securities law. I did not enjoy practicing law at all. I loved my work in politics and journalism. I have no idea how the MB results reflect, or do not reflect my career choices. For me they described my ways of approaching problems and situations, more than my competencies and preferences in work.

While I think Smiling' and Sue's description of what they got from the JO testing is quite compelling, I think it is hard to beat putting yourself out in the work world to see what you like and what you don't. I was a fantastic law student who practically started drinking when I did my first summer clerkship. OTOH I thrived on political campaigns and in newsrooms.

Two of my sons are very set in their career paths. Two are more questioning, though they all have very similar academic strengths. I am going to have DS 3 & 4 do the JO testing this fall for sure. I am grateful you brought this up. I may even have 1 & 2 do the testing. Smiling's point about gaining insight into what was easy for her, but not necessarily the way everybody else functions, is super important I think for someone starting out.

I think it is hard to beat putting yourself out in the work world to see what you like and what you don't. I was a fantastic law student who practically started drinking when I did my first summer clerkship. OTOH I thrived on political campaigns and in newsrooms.

Rita, it's great to realize that being in law doesn't necessarily mean working in a law office!

My first job in my field was wonderful, a great environment, creative coworkers, and in an area that both appealed to my interests and helped my understanding of the field. I was a technical writer, working for a company that developed document-production software. Great combination! My next job, doing the same work, was sooooo duuuulll, and in a very restrictive environment that didn't seem to encourage employee professional development. Within 3 months I was looking for a change again. If that had been my first job, I might not have gone on in the field. My last job in that field was completely different from the other two, but was again with some creative folks, supportive management, and in another area of interest to me, so that was another win.

A combination of knowing what you like, realizing what you're good at, and having valuable experiences, is a great combination.

If I‘m remembering correctly, JOC is highly recommended for students around soph/jr year in HS because it helps to focus on what they might want to study in college. For instance, my middle DS thought he wanted to be an elementary school teacher because he had worked at an after school program for years and loved it. What the testing showed was that he’d be bored teaching because he needed a career with a lot of change, not the sort of repetition that teaching requires. I can’t recall all the suggested fields but one was engineering, for example. He ended up double majoring in Finance and Supply Chain Management and was very happy and IS very happy in his first post-college job in supply chain /purchasing and procurement.

I should look up DS #1’s JOC results and see if there’s any mention of quitting jobs for no good reason before having a new job lined up...oh but that’s another topic for another day. Grr.