Let’s be honest, picking a career and devoting your entire life to it is daunting. And considering you will be paying for college and spending a significant amount of time studying, you want to be certain that you are making the right choice.
Well, there’s good news for you! The US Department of Labor developed a career aptitude test called “My Next Move,” which you can find here, to help students find the perfect career path.
This test is divided into five sets of questions (60 total) and scored on a five-point Likert scale (strongly dislike to strongly like).
Note: You should only answer based on your interests alone and not consider experience, education, or expected salary; just think about your likes and dislikes.
Tip: You will also have the opportunity at the end to go back and change responses you answered “unsure.” I strongly recommend you do to get better results.
Based on your responses, a profile will be generated in six categories:
- Realistic (R) – enjoy working with your hands and in the out-doors (e.g., veterinarian, botanist, carpenter).
- Investigative (I) – address real-world problems with innovative ideas and solutions (e.g., scientist, researcher).
- Artistic (A) – requires creativity in the everyday operations of work (e.g., artist, fashion designer, UX designer).
- Social (S) – prefer working with and helping others; interested in people not objects (e.g., psychologist, counselor, teacher).
- Enterprising (E) – strong interests in the business side of projects and ventures, such as decision-making and leadership (e.g., entrepreneur, CEO, product manager).
- Conventional (C) – prefer working with a clear set of rules and attention to details (e.g., lawyer, doctor, accountant).
I’ve personally taken this test myself and must say it is fairly accurate because my current career goal is listed as one of the jobs that fit my interests (clinical psychologist). My top three interests were enterprising (27), social (21), and investigative (13).
Tip: This test is great because you also have the option to filter jobs by any of the six categories
Like what you read? Want more college advice? Then check out some of the articles below!
Related: Need help picking the perfect major? Check out this article.
Related: Interested in tech jobs? Check out this article.
Related: Interested in healthcare jobs? Check out this article.
Related: Interested in science jobs? Check out this article.
Related: Interested in business jobs? Check out this article.
