We often have prospective Collegewise families ask us if we do any career testing as part of our program. That's an easy one. No.
I understand why they ask. But if you're looking for college counseling advice based on what a test says your kid's career aptitude is, we're not the right college counselors for you.
Have you ever met a single successful adult who discovered their path because of a career test they took when they were seventeen? I haven't.
The truly great counselors we've known would never put much stock in a career test for teens. We don't think most teenagers are supposed to know what they want to do with their lives yet. And we don't like to see kids making important decisions based on the results of a blunt, one-size fits all, instrument.
Picking a college is an important and potentially expensive decision. So it's smart for kids to ask themselves if they have any idea what they might want to do with their lives before they decide where to apply. And if a teen really does have a future career in mind, that should probably be one of many criteria they consider when picking colleges.
But for most kids, their path to a future successful career probably won't be a straight line. And we think that's OK. No need to carve a premature path because of a what a standardized tests tells you to do.
Susie Watts says
As a college consultant, I couldn’t agree with your more. I do get pressure from parents to do these career tests, but I do not believe they lead to anything productive. Many of my students apply to college as undecided majors and I don’t encourage them to come up with something specific unless they have a strong preference such as engineering.
College Direction
Denver, Colorado