Counseling and Career Center

Introduction

Career testing and related exercises can be useful for students attempting to choose a college major and eventual occupation. The decision process involves, among other things, gathering information, and testing can be a source of important personal information that would be difficult to obtain by other means.

Students who ask about testing frequently want to know about the "aptitude tests" or "tests that tell me what I'm good at." Interestingly, we have none of these tests, the ones designed to assess things such as numerical, verbal or mechanical skills, creativity, or aptitude for languages. (Some assessments we offer ask you to estimate your level of skill in various activities, but none measures skills.) The ACT scores and prior academic success required for admission to BYU suggest a student has the aptitude to succeed. Enrollment is taken as evidence of sufficient ability to satisfy requirements for some or even many programs offered here. Therefore, the issue becomes not so much what students can do, but what they would enjoy doing, identifying majors and occupations they might find interesting and fulfilling. To do this we offer interest tests and related activities. These are described below (some require a fee.) First, however, we want to explain in general what these instruments and exercises provide, to help you decide if such information would be useful at this point in your search.

Information Provided

Most people have some idea what interests them. Some are so sure that an interest test/exercise would probably do little to enlighten them further. For them, the results might create such feelings as, "It didn't tell me anything I didn't already know." In fact, many people have that experience, at least to a degree. Even so, they also often find the test identified interests they had never considered or interests they had forgotten. Even if the test/exercise offers little new information, it can confirm what you have believed your interests to be.

Interest tests and exercises can help reduce the confusion that sometimes surrounds thinking about likes and dislikes as they relate to careers. They show if your interests are higher or lower than average in broad areas of interest such as science or the arts and in clusters of work related activities such as teaching or medical service. Some also compare your pattern of interests with the patterns of satisfied, successful workers in a variety of occupations to see whom you most resemble.

Whether the results confirm what you already know about yourself or present possibilities you have not considered, you should not regard them as the final word, the answer to the question, What should I be? Interest test and related information should supplement information from other sources such as family, friends, teachers, reading, classes, talking to people in areas you are considering, television, personal work experience, etc. Even so, as stated earlier, interest tests can provide information difficult to get any other way, such as determining how your interests compare to the interests of workers in a variety of careers.

Should you take a career test or complete an exercise?

Most of the tests take about 45 minutes to complete and 45-60 minutes to have the results interpreted. As noted above, some require a fee. Your results will be available for interpretation the third work day after the day you take the test. The area where you take tests is open from 8:00-5:00 weekdays. Descriptions of the tests/exercises are found below. Group interpretation sessions are held weekly for the CISS and SII. If you cannot attend a group session, or the test is not offered in a group session, an individual interpretation can be arranged. After considering what specific tests offer and the time and possible costs involved, you may be ready to decide if the information they provide is what you need at this time. If you believe it is, choose your test and see the receptionist for additional instructions. If you wish to take multiple tests or talk to a counselor about other career decision matters, feel free to make an appointment through the receptionist.

Principal Tests

These two tests (listed alphabetically) are the most often used in CCC to assist with career decisions.

• CISS -
  The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey. Time to complete: about 45 minutes. The test asks to what degree you like or dislike a variety of occupations, school subjects, and varied activities and asks you to estimate your level of skill for engaging in a number of activities. Scores compare you to the average person in seven broad areas of interest and estimated skill level. These broad indicators are subdivided into 29 pairs of scales to provide a more detailed picture of your interests and self-assessed skills. Your pattern of interests/skills is then compared to the patterns for combined male/female worker groups in 58 occupations to see which you resemble most closely. Your interest and confidence in working in academic settings and with people are also assessed.
  
  
• SII -
  The Strong Interest Inventory. Time to complete: about 45 minutes. (1) Asks whether you like, are indifferent to, or dislike a number of occupations, school subjects, leisure and other activities, and types of people; your preference between paired activities; and to identify personal characteristics. (2) Shows if you have above/below average interest in six broad areas and your level of interest in 25 specific sub-areas of activity, providing a fairly detailed view of where your interests lie. (3) Your pattern of interests is compared separately to patterns for male and female workers in 109 occupations to see which you look most like. How much you like to work with other people, your preferred way to learn, your leadership style, and your comfort with risk-taking are also assessed.
  
  (1) Test items ask whether you like, . . . .
  (2) Test results show if you have above/below average . . . .
  (3) Your pattern of interests is then compared separately to patterns for female and male workers in 109 occupations.
  
  
  

Other Interest Tests and Exercises

If you choose not to select one of the principle tests above, you may wish to consider the SDS. Discover is a computer exercise you should consider completing whether you take a test or not. It is described below.

• SDS -
  Self Directed Search. Time to complete: about 30 minutes. After selecting which ones you like from lists of activities and occupations and which ones you possess from lists of competencies and abilities, you derive a Summary Code to use with an Occupations Finder to identify promising careers. Suggestions are provided for advancing your career search.
  
  
• Discover -
  Time to complete: about 1 hour
  
  Discover is a comprehensive computer program that will help with career planning. Using three separate tests, Discover will match one's interests, abilities, and values to certain occupations and plot them on the World of Work Map. Learning About Self and Career, Choosing an Occupation, Planning Your Education, and Planning For Work are just a few more options that are available on Discover. If you are a current BYU student and would like to try Discover, send an email to discover@byu.edu to request a user ID.
  
  Our licence agreement does not allow us to distribute Discover passwords to anybody who is not a current BYU student.
  
  

Additional Possibly Helpful Assessments

Sometimes an assessment of personality, temperament, personal preferences or style will help in career exploration. Arrange to meet with a counselor for additional information about the following:

• MBTI -
  How you perceive information and how you judge the information through thoughts or feelings is assessed. You are identified among 16 possible types, showing strengths.
  
  
• KOLB -
  You are placed in one of four learning modes, which may help in the choice of careers that fit your style or in adopting other styles for more success.