- Joined
- Nov 10, 2009
- Messages
- 16,447
- Reaction score
- 8,625
Anyone know or have any good ones?
PhD/PsyD Career assessment/ aptitude tests?
- Thread starter Drrrrrr. Celty
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 22,588
- Reaction score
- 4,839
Long answer: They have a variety of assessment measures that fall more on the I/O side of things for vocational interest and abilities that I'd consider more "career assessment." I don't have any recommendations if you are looking as an end-user, as they really should be administered by a professional. Most of what you'll find on the internet are junk (and lack actual research to support them). Some of the measures used by companies that market to corporate clients are equally bad, though not all.
Short answer: No, not that can be used appropriately w/o someone w. training in the area.
Short answer: No, not that can be used appropriately w/o someone w. training in the area.
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2009
- Messages
- 16,447
- Reaction score
- 8,625
Hmm, do you think a college career center may have professions to preform it? Or should I aim to talk to a psych department person?
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2009
- Messages
- 18,969
- Reaction score
- 26,159
College career center more likely. We don't use these instruments in a clinical setting.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2010
- Messages
- 9,776
- Reaction score
- 6,736
The career center could probably point you in the right direction if they don't have someone there trained to administer/interpret them. You could also check in with the psych services center at the college, as they also might be able to make a referral. I'd start with the career center, though.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 22,588
- Reaction score
- 4,839
Agreed.
The only place I've seen these instruments used regularly was in the corp. setting…some by I/O psychologists and some by random analysts/consultants (not sure of their background). A college career center will be a good first step, and they may do some of that (or know ppl who do).
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2010
- Messages
- 1,839
- Reaction score
- 1,560
While I agree with the spirit of your statement, I would not agree with such a blanket statement. I think T4C provided a very good answer and some of those types of instruments may be found in some clinical settings. Frankly, one may be surprised what they find in old assessment closets.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2009
- Messages
- 18,969
- Reaction score
- 26,159
The blanket statement stands. In clinical settings, these are not used. Maybe if you're doing learning assessments, etc, they will have them available. But frankly, these are not clinical instruments and should be left to those who do this thing on a regular basis (i.e., career counselors) rather than by a clinical psychologist who is attempting to do a half-assed career assessment.
In my experience, college career centres tend to use things like the Holland Interest Inventory and MBTI. (The MBTI is definitely not valid, unsure about the Holland thing, but doubt it). They are often staffed with people who are not really able to help you interpret any reflective exercises you might do, and definitely can't help you make decisions. They tend to be better at helping seniors write resumes and cover letters, locate industry-specific labour market information, internships, that kind of thing. I am sure there are exceptions, but that's been my experience at a couple of universities.
I once paid for an assessment package delivered by a clinical psychologist (privately, this would likely not be available through your university. I think it cost somewhere around $300-500 at the time, but it's been many years). He administered a few IQ and aptitude tests, which mostly didn't surprise me. (Except for an out-of-left-field aptitude for physics -- I was like, what?? At that point, even as an adult, the furthest I'd got with science was grade 11 biology. However, this news didn't much matter, because there was/is no way I was suddenly going to develop an interest in engineering.) In the end, even he said it came down to making decisions. Which was exactly my problem😕.
You are probably already mostly aware of what you're at least drawn to, and the inclinations and aptitudes that have been tapped by the experiences available to you so far (i.e., academic study, personal hobbies, opportunities for volunteering/leisure activities that are present in your community).
You know about traditional jobs, and the kind of work your parents and their friends do. Those experiences obviously don't cover even a fraction of the actual work that's done in the world -- new jobs are created all the time, and they're not always captured by things like the Strong Interest Inventory. (That is one of the tools your college centre might be able to help you with [mine can't] and is worth doing, I think -- it compares your vocational and avocational interests to those of people who a) have been working in their chosen careers for at least three years and b) claim to be satisfied with their work. It's not perfectly complete -- some jobs are not in there -- but still really helpful re traditional jobs, I think.)
If you can do some of the reflective work required to figure out what you like and what you're good at, or get an assessment done to help if that's unclear, that's great. If you can imagine the kind of work environment you might like, that's great too. (Though, if you're young and inexperienced, you can only guess and might be wrong… still, you may have ideas.)
To fill the gap between what you know and what you don't know -- i.e. the realities of any given profession, the job market -- all you can do is make your best guess. To do that, you need information. You can get some of it by expanding your range of personal experience -- volunteering, working -- although you will really only get a sense of atmosphere and maybe a glimpse into what your target professions cover. You can also do research -- interview people, look at labour market information, etc. (I think talking to people 3-5 years into their careers might help you gauge risks, costs, benefits etc better than talking to people who have been in their careers longer, because the market is changing so fast.)
I hope you are able to find resources at your school. If you do not, and are stuck with figuring things out on your own, I have a couple of recommendations (NOTE: I am just a student who has done a ton of career exploration, take this for what that's worth).
I recommend O*Net OnLine as one of the useful avenues of research: you can filter results by specific person or work characteristics -- e.g. for the latter, 'repetition', importance of 'problem sensitivity', etc. It does help to know what those mean and how they might relate to you, of course -- aptitude and personality assessments can help in that regard if you're unsure.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics. (assuming you are American)
This book. Great guide to at least thinking things through, and importantly, hugely helpful around making career-related decisions 🙂
This forum we're on is one of the best resources I know of for psychology-specific stuff. There is an amazing wealth of information here, not just through individual responses (though there's a lot of that), but also via links to research, etc.; and if you spend some time reading, you can get a general sense of relevant professional and economic issues.
Good luck!
(I should say, I have read about some really committed college counselling centres that can help with most of this stuff, and I hope yours is like that. It's just that I've never experienced it myself and neither have most of the people I know.)
I also note the irony that I am giving you this advice, but remain undecided myself. Some of that is me, and some because my costs/risks/benefits are different than a typical undergrad's. Anyway best of luck!
Last point: putting all that together is easier said than done, and I do think a professional career counsellor can help with that. But you will probably have to pay for that level of personalized assistance, it's unlikely to be available at your school.
I once paid for an assessment package delivered by a clinical psychologist (privately, this would likely not be available through your university. I think it cost somewhere around $300-500 at the time, but it's been many years). He administered a few IQ and aptitude tests, which mostly didn't surprise me. (Except for an out-of-left-field aptitude for physics -- I was like, what?? At that point, even as an adult, the furthest I'd got with science was grade 11 biology. However, this news didn't much matter, because there was/is no way I was suddenly going to develop an interest in engineering.) In the end, even he said it came down to making decisions. Which was exactly my problem😕.
You are probably already mostly aware of what you're at least drawn to, and the inclinations and aptitudes that have been tapped by the experiences available to you so far (i.e., academic study, personal hobbies, opportunities for volunteering/leisure activities that are present in your community).
You know about traditional jobs, and the kind of work your parents and their friends do. Those experiences obviously don't cover even a fraction of the actual work that's done in the world -- new jobs are created all the time, and they're not always captured by things like the Strong Interest Inventory. (That is one of the tools your college centre might be able to help you with [mine can't] and is worth doing, I think -- it compares your vocational and avocational interests to those of people who a) have been working in their chosen careers for at least three years and b) claim to be satisfied with their work. It's not perfectly complete -- some jobs are not in there -- but still really helpful re traditional jobs, I think.)
If you can do some of the reflective work required to figure out what you like and what you're good at, or get an assessment done to help if that's unclear, that's great. If you can imagine the kind of work environment you might like, that's great too. (Though, if you're young and inexperienced, you can only guess and might be wrong… still, you may have ideas.)
To fill the gap between what you know and what you don't know -- i.e. the realities of any given profession, the job market -- all you can do is make your best guess. To do that, you need information. You can get some of it by expanding your range of personal experience -- volunteering, working -- although you will really only get a sense of atmosphere and maybe a glimpse into what your target professions cover. You can also do research -- interview people, look at labour market information, etc. (I think talking to people 3-5 years into their careers might help you gauge risks, costs, benefits etc better than talking to people who have been in their careers longer, because the market is changing so fast.)
I hope you are able to find resources at your school. If you do not, and are stuck with figuring things out on your own, I have a couple of recommendations (NOTE: I am just a student who has done a ton of career exploration, take this for what that's worth).
I recommend O*Net OnLine as one of the useful avenues of research: you can filter results by specific person or work characteristics -- e.g. for the latter, 'repetition', importance of 'problem sensitivity', etc. It does help to know what those mean and how they might relate to you, of course -- aptitude and personality assessments can help in that regard if you're unsure.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics. (assuming you are American)
This book. Great guide to at least thinking things through, and importantly, hugely helpful around making career-related decisions 🙂
This forum we're on is one of the best resources I know of for psychology-specific stuff. There is an amazing wealth of information here, not just through individual responses (though there's a lot of that), but also via links to research, etc.; and if you spend some time reading, you can get a general sense of relevant professional and economic issues.
Good luck!
(I should say, I have read about some really committed college counselling centres that can help with most of this stuff, and I hope yours is like that. It's just that I've never experienced it myself and neither have most of the people I know.)
I also note the irony that I am giving you this advice, but remain undecided myself. Some of that is me, and some because my costs/risks/benefits are different than a typical undergrad's. Anyway best of luck!
Last point: putting all that together is easier said than done, and I do think a professional career counsellor can help with that. But you will probably have to pay for that level of personalized assistance, it's unlikely to be available at your school.
Last edited:
