Career Assessment for High School Students—Here’s Where You Can Do the Tests and Why
As the college application process draws near, you must determine what you want to do in life. Only then can you choose the major and the higher education institution that will help you reach your goal. If you have any work experience, such as volunteering or doing an internship, you might already have an idea of what your skills and interests are. It takes time and a lot of reflection to know exactly what your dream job is.
Career assessment quizzes are there to help you reflect on your skills, interests, and personality type. The purpose of getting to know yourself better by taking career tests is to decide what industry and job positions you want to build your career in.
Wait no longer and find out what career assessment tests for high school students are. You’ll also learn where you can take the best tests out there and how they help you choose the right career for you.
What Is a Free Career Assessment for High School Students?
Credit: Brooke Cagle
A career assessment for high school students is a test that helps you gain ideas for what major you want to study or the career you want to pursue.
Career assessment tests are usually put into two broad categories:
- Career aptitude tests—assess your strengths and weaknesses to suggest career and college major ideas
- Career interests tests—evaluate your likes and dislikes to help you choose a career or a college major
Depending on the test you take, you will answer the questions that ask you about your:
- Skills
- Values
- Work style
- Likes and dislikes
- Personality traits
Note that there are no wrong answers. Career assessment tests are entirely personal, and it is your choice what answers you want to submit or what statements you relate to. You should keep in mind that the more accurate answers you provide, the higher the chance is that you will benefit from the report you get.
Most career assessment tests consist of a number of multiple-choice questions. There are usually four answers to choose from. Other tests offer a list of statements that you may relate to. You can choose whether the statements apply to you completely, not at all, or to a lesser or greater extent. The “neutral” option should also be available if you are undecided on some statements.
If you have ever taken a teen stress test, an anxiety test for teens, or a social anxiety test for teenagers, you have an idea of how career assessment tests work.
Career aptitude and interests tests are free in nine out of ten cases. You can stumble upon the tests that offer a more in-depth report for a price, but you will get a satisfying report for free.
What Else Should You Know About Career Assessment Quizzes for High School Students?
When taking a career assessment quiz, note that you may struggle with providing answers to some questions. If questions or statements seem vague to you, think hard about how to respond to them and try to do your best to give the most honest answer.
In other instances, the answers you are given can seem too black and white. Perhaps you belong somewhere in a gray area. In that case, pick the side that you lean most toward, whether the question assesses your skills, interests, work style, or personality traits.
Don’t take the results you get in a career assessment quiz to be the final answer in your search for the right career for you. You should read all the questions thoroughly, try to give specific answers, and study your report in detail to get to know yourself better. Always look at the report as a suggestion rather than the final answer.
If the test report suggests some majors or career paths you’ve never considered, it can be an opportunity to gain ideas, explore something new, and make a wise final decision. In the opposite scenario, if the test offered the suggestions you were hoping for, all the more reason to pursue the interests you are already harboring.
In any case, take the test report with a grain of salt. Career assessment tests are the tools to help you with your decision-making process, and they shouldn’t be the sole factor in making your choice.
Where Can a Student Take a Career Assessment Test?
Students can take career assessment tests in their high school’s counseling office.
If you schedule a meeting with your school’s career counselor, you can ask them to give you a career assessment quiz to complete. You can then ask them to interpret your report with you to help you understand it.
Online career assessment tests for high school students are more and more popular. You don’t have to leave your home or wait to get a meeting with a career counselor to do the test.
Best Online Career Assessment Tests for High School Students
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You can take a plethora of different career assessment tests on the internet for free. They usually take 5–10 minutes to complete, but some may be longer than that.
You can take online career assessment tests on these websites:
- 123test.org
- MBTI
- The CareerExplorer
- The Assessment.com
- Barrett Values Center
- The yourfreecareertest.com
- Truity
Career Assessment Tools for High School Students—123 Career Test
The 123 Career aptitude test is unusual yet highly effective. In the 15-part quiz, you get pictures that represent job requirements. In each set, you get four images, and you pick the one that is most appealing and the one that is least appealing to you. When the quiz ends, you get a detailed assessment of your career personality and the list of occupations that may interest you.
The quiz is free, it takes 5–10 minutes to complete, and doesn’t require account registration. The website advises you to not consider salary or status when you tick off occupations that you like. You should also put gender or ethnicity out of the equation and select the jobs you can picture yourself performing.
The test assesses your career personality based on the Holland Code theory. John Holland developed a theory that every occupation requires certain personality traits from an individual. There are six of Holland’s career personalities:
- Realistic—also called doers, people in this category are practical, possess technical skills, value hands-on experience, and enjoy working with people. They love to solve concrete rather than abstract problems
- Investigative—thinkers or investigators are knowledge-hungry. They are analytical and explorative and have a talent for spotting details
- Social—also called helpers, people with social personality type are usually warm and positive. They value collaboration and communication and thrive in occupations in which they can support and nurture others
- Conventional—people in this category are organizers and work best in structured environments. They are detail-oriented and talented for interpreting data
- Artistic—people who are creators are unique, curious, and independent. They are highly inventive and look for opportunities to express their ideas and talent
- Enterprising—also called persuaders, people in this category have strong leadership skills. They are competitive by nature and have a knack for public speaking and influencing others
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Test
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test assesses your personality based on four opposing categories:
- Introversion and extroversion
- Sensing and intuition
- Thinking and feeling
- Judging and perceiving
The first letter of each characteristic is taken to form a four-letter acronym, such as INFJ, ENFP, or ISFJ—to list only three—that represents a distinct personality type. There is a total of 16 personality types in the MBTI model.
The MBTI personality test asks you to reflect on your:
- Skills
- Values
- Habits
- Preferences
- Motivation
- Likes and dislikes
- Behavioral patterns
The MBTI assessment is supposed to help you achieve deeper self-awareness. It tells you how you go about making decisions, how you view the world around you, and what industries you are most likely to thrive in.
The 16 personality types in the MBTI model are divided into four categories. Take a look at each:
| Category | Personality Types |
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Sentinels |
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Diplomats |
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Analysts |
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Explorers |
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The report you get when you do an MBTI test is exhaustive, listing:
- Your personality traits
- The occupations that may be a perfect fit for you
- Your general thought-processes
- The behavioral patterns you display around people
Taking the test on the official website costs around $50 without taxes. You can do a free version and get similar results.
Whichever career assessment test you take, you don’t have to rely on its results to the fullest. The sole experience of answering these questionnaires should help you reflect on your skills, interests, and preferences so you can better decide for yourself what career you will pursue.
Even though the MBTI model is highly popular and used by many career counselors, some researchers point out its discrepancies. For example, it can happen that you take the test multiple times and get different results. Other criticism is pointed toward the fact that the MBTI model of personality types isn’t exhaustive. In other words, it lacks certain traits that many people possess, such as passivity or fearfulness
The CareerExplorer Career Test
The CareerExplorer’s career test assesses your interests and personality traits to suggest the careers you would want to pursue or would thrive in. The test is free and takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete.
The CareerExplorer measures over 140 personality traits against a comprehensive list of careers and majors—more than 800 careers—to suggest the best matches for you. The test uses four areas to help you decide what occupations would fit you perfectly:
- Interests—the test suggests the careers that align with your interests
- History and goals—your region, experience, and salary expectations are taken into account
- Workplace—CareerExplorer makes sure to include your ideal workspace in the overall assessment to get the best results
- Personality—the test suggests careers that you can excel in based on your personality
The test consists of several parts. The first asks you to rate the requirements of certain positions based on how much you would love or hate performing them. Other parts assess concrete personality traits you possess and offer specific majors and careers you need to rate.
A notable advantage of the CareerExplorer’s test is that it allows you to skip any questions you want. That way, you don’t have to provide answers that are not in line with your personality solely because they are there.
Assessment.com—The Mapp Career Assessment Test
The MAPP Career Assessment Test on the Assessment.com website is another comprehensive test that takes you 20 minutes to complete. The test has a free version, but you do have to register for an account on the website to take it.
You have to answer a total of 71 questions about your likes and dislikes. The organization suggests you answer the questions instinctively rather than take time to think.
The downside of the MAPP Career Assessment Test is that the free version doesn’t give you your complete report. You will be matched to the second top 10 fields you may want to explore. If you want to see which are the first top 10 fields for you, you will have to pay for a version of the MAPP Package. For high school students, the Starter package, which costs $89.95, is a good deal. It includes the first 10 matches along with suggestions as to which majors you want to pursue to achieve your career goals.
Barrett Values Center—The Personal Values Assessment
The Barrett Values Center’s Personal Values Assessment helps you understand yourself better. The test asks you to reflect on who you are and:
- The factors that influence your decision-making process
- Your most cherished values
- The situations and concepts that upset you
BVC considers these factors to be crucial to your personality and career choices. Their Personal Values Assessment test is free and doesn’t take more than several minutes to complete. You don’t have to create an account to take the test, but you do have to provide an email address. Your report will be sent to you by BVC in an email.
The test lists a multitude of values from which you must select at least 10 to complete the test.
Taking the BVC test can help you get to know yourself in more depth. The report explains how your values influence what you do in life, which can help you decide the job occupations you may thrive in.
An advantage of the BVC test is that you can take it in languages other than English.
Career Interests Assessment for High School Students—Your Free Career Test
Credit: Fernando @cferdo
Your Free Career Test is a website that offers multiple career tests for high school and college students to take. Some of the specific tests are:
The specificity of these tests helps you narrow down your career choices even further if you already know the field you can see yourself in, such as arts or business.
Of course, the website also offers a general career test to take if you want to start from zero. It consists of over 40 multiple-choice questions. You need to rate certain job requirements on the scale from “not interested” to “very interested.”
The results list several fields you may be interested in pursuing. For each field, it tells you:
- What careers exist in the field
- How to choose a specific career within it
- What activities you can do in high school to sharpen the skills you need and hone your talent
- What the work environment associated with the field looks like
- Where to find more useful resources
Vocational Assessment for High School Students—Truity’s Big Five Personality Test
Truity’s Big Five Personality Test assesses your personality by offering a number of statements you may relate to. Some of the statements are:
- My moods change easily
- I have a vivid imagination
- I avoid philosophical discussions
- I often worry that I am not good enough
You can rate these statements on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from inaccurate to accurate. Truity advises that you rate the statements based on what you are like in truth, rather than what your ideal version of yourself is. When you submit your answers, you get a detailed report of your personality.
The Big Five Personality Test assesses your personality based on the Big Five theory. The theory recognizes five factors or personality traits that are found in people to a certain extent. Take a look at what they are:
| Personality Trait | Characteristics |
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Open |
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Conscientious |
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Extravert |
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Agreeable |
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Neurotic |
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Truity’s test presents which traits you possess in percentages. For example, you may be 89% agreeable and 45% conscientious. The report analyzes your personality in great depth, telling you about your:
- Personality patterns
- Traits in action
- Values
- Innerself
Even though it’s a personality trait, The Big Five Test is worth taking when deciding what career you want to pursue. You can study your report thoroughly to reflect on your values, motivation, and overall decision-making.
It’s also worth noting that the Big Five theory is generally more accepted by psychologists than the MBTI model for determining personality types.
Why Are Career Assessment Tests for High School and College Students Useful?
Credits: Anubhav Saxena
No career assessment test for high school students is perfect, and you should never take the results you get as definitive.
Taking the career assessment aptitude and interests tests is useful because it helps you:
- Reflect on your values and strengths
- Determine what your work style is
- Understand what careers align with your interests
- Get to know your personality type and how it relates to your day-to-day activities
- Gain ideas for majors you want to study and careers you want to pursue
What’s Your Take on the Skills Assessment Tests for High School Students?
Have you ever taken a career assessment test, or would this be your first time?
In either case, we want to hear what you think about career aptitude and interests tests. Did they help you learn something about yourself you weren’t aware of before? Do you know which careers you may be perfect for after taking the test?
Write to us about your opinions on career assessment for high school students and offer any additional advice you have on choosing a major or career. We’ll share your insight with our readers to help high school students across the country make the choice that’s right for them.