Career Testing/Counseling

[Jazzy]

I’d like to my son start thinking about a college major/career. I was thinking he could come up with a list of potentials, look at various degree plans and course options, and spend some time talking with people in that field.

 

Do any of you know of some good online career testing or other resources that may help?

[Lori D.]

Just as a quick aside, while I *do* think career exploration is a good thing to do, just be prepared for a high likelihood that it does NOT turn up a strong career interest for your student. From my experience of doing several rounds of career exploration with grades 6-12 homeschool students, most students, even the upper grade high schoolers, really have no idea of what they might want to do for a job even after doing some career exploration.

However, they do have fun taking the various tests ;), and it useful for students to be looking ahead at the list of college courses they would need to take to accomplish a specific degree, which helps them see how their high school studies tie in and can even start knocking out some of those credits in advance through AP, dual enrollment, and CLEP tests.

Is your DS taking any dual enrollment at the local community college or university? As a student there, he would have free access to whatever career exploration resources the school offers. Also, lots of links to past threads with lots of resources at the end of post #5 of the big pinned thread at the top of this high school board -- most are older, so some links are no longer valid.

Below, I've copy-pasted resources from a previous post of mine. BEST of luck in finding what works best for YOUR family! Warmly, Lori D.

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CAREER TESTS
There are 4 types of career assessment tests you will run across:

Personality Inventory = helps see how your personality fits in with others in a work place
(examples: Meyers-Briggs Indicator; Keirsey Temperament Sorter)
- Personality Testing: Open Extended Jungian Type Scales: -- free printable test, similar to the Meyers-Briggs personality types
- Color Personality Test -- free printable test; less specific and less individualized than other tests, as it is designed for working in teams and understanding strengths/needs of each of the 4 colors, so useful in places of employment
- Fun Education: free online test
- Team Technology: free online test

Interest Inventory = ways you like to work
(examples: Campbell Interest & Skill Survey; Strong Interest Inventory)
most of these tests are based on, or are variations on, the 6 work interest areas of the Holland Codes
- O-Net: My Next Move Interest Profiler: free online test
- California Career Zone: free online test (and lots of resources for exploring careers)

Work Values Survey = what brings meaning/is important to you in working
- Santa Cruz K-12: Work Values Inventory: free printable test
- Univ. of Notre Dame: Work Values Inventory: free printable test

Aptitude Assessment (Work Skills) = determines specific abilities/skills
(used specifically by employers to know if you have specific skills needed for the job -- such as, how many words a minute do you type;  do you have specific training/certifications; etc.)
- Univ. of Notre Dame: Career Center: Skills Inventory: free printable inventory
- California Career Zone: free online skills profiler
- Career One Stop: free online skills profiler

Additional Test Resources
- Career Exploration for 6th-7th graders from Learning for Life -- a free online teaching supplement
- Everything Career Tests Book (secular) and student packet resources from Rod & Staff (Christian) look interesting -- the book has 10 different tests in it, and the packet walks the student through the book

Career Exploration and Interest Inventories
Most interest inventory tests are a variation of the Holland Code, which is organized with six interest areas and then the career fields and specific jobs that use those interests. This Wikipedia article explains the Holland Codes and lists job ideas under each of the interest areas. The CA Career Zone website has a free test you can take online, and then lets you explore various careers. You can also plug in your top three interest areas (your "Holland Code") at the NY Career Zone website and explore careers. Changing the order of your top interest areas yields additional occupations to consider.

Career Resources for a Fee:
- Seven Sisters: Career Exploration elective
- Let's Homeschool High School: 4-week career exploration unit
- Glencoe: MacGraw Hill: Exploring Careers (used versions are cheap -- don't know if they require an online key code  to access the website resources...)
- K-12: Career-Ready Lesson Plans for grades 6-12
- What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens -- book
   part 1 discusses the 4 types of tests for matching yourself up with jobs
   part 2 covers education/training needed for specific jobs
   part 3 is about the job search process
- Crown Ministries: Career Direct -- for a fee; Christian career exploration testing

Free Career Exploration Resources:
- CA Career Zone and NY Career Zone -- free interest tests/career exploration by top 3 interest areas (Holland Codes), and then info on many careers
- US Bureau of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook -- free website for career exploration
- Career One Stop -- free interest survey and career exploration from US Bureau of Labor
- Career Clusters -- free interest inventory and career exploration through 14 "clusters" (general career areas), 70 "pathways" (specific occupational areas within each cluster) and hundreds of "crosswalks" (specific jobs within each pathway)
- O-Net ("O" for Occupations) allows you to read info on the various "crosswalks", search by career cluster, industry, STEM jobs, and more. Start at O-Net: Career Clusters which takes you to the Career Clusters info on O-Net, or go to the "My Next Move" section, which has two different search engines (by industry or by key words), and an interest profiler.
- ASVAB: Career Exploration for High School -- military's career exploration program for teens, separate from the military ASVAB entrance exam

Edited September 16, 2018 by Lori D.

[MerryAtHope]

Just as a quick aside, while I *do* think career exploration is a good thing to do, just be prepared for a high likelihood that it does NOT turn up a strong career interest for your student. From my experience of doing several rounds of career exploration with grades 6-12 homeschool students, most students, even the upper grade high schoolers, really have no idea of what they might want to do for a job even after doing some career exploration.

 

However, they do have fun taking the various tests ;)

 

 

Is your DS taking any dual enrollment at the local community college or university? As a student there, he would have free access to whatever career exploration resources the school offers. 

 

 

 

LOL, Lori, I'll see your comment on the students who might not know in high school (or early college years), and raise you one who didn't have fun taking the tests either! (Thankfully my second enjoyed them though!). 

 

However, I agree about checking with the local CC or university--ours offered career search help even to students not yet enrolled. (They did a Strong's Inventory, gave us access to a large website with all kinds of "day in the life" type of info on various careers, and even met one-on-one with my students...multiple times with the one who still isn't sure...)