school workshops, I speak from personal
experience. I'm a classic example of
wandering-around-aimlessly. I began
college by first choosing journalism,
but decided I wasn't a "news" person. I
switched to English, then sociology. By
senior year, I'd focused on advertising and
public relations, but after graduation I got
zero employment offers. With adequate
writing skills and nominal perseverance,
I finally managed to grab a low-paying
copywriting job.
friend, an industrial psychologist. He gave
me several vocational and personality
tests to help me carve a professional path.
The tests revealed I had wandered away
from a career that fit my personality. So, I
returned to evening school, took additional
courses, and found ways to make my
future jobs more fun and fulfilling.
emphasized this: Take aptitude and
personality tests as early as possible to
discover your special abilities.
Many high schools and colleges buy
aptitude, personality, and vocational tests
to give their students. While volunteering
a couple hours a week as a high school
writing tutor, I discovered an online test
series called Sigi3. (This is the 21st century
version of what Baby Boomers might
remember as a groundbreaking product
from Educational Testing Services, the
group who created the SAT.) We found this
product so helpful, three of us volunteers
paid for a one-year license for the school
so its 2000-plus students could use it.
years, you can still learn from these tests.
You can buy a single-user one year license
for well under twenty dollars. The tests also
help you assess your values. And there's
also lots of wage data and information
on jobs. For more information, visit
employer, this site can also help you
put the right person in the right job.
And employees can gather new ideas
to make their work more efficient and
personally satisfying.
shares
professions. Some have college degrees. Some do not. Some started with few advantages. Others had the
opportunity to attend great schools. But many share these traits: (1) they love their work. (2) They found
careers more fun and challenging.