Should college students take an aptitude test to assist in choosing a career path?
I recently received an email from a reader who benefited tremendously a decade ago when he took an aptitude test after a very tough first year in college. He is wondering if students today are ever offered, or encouraged to take, an aptitude test to help them determine the career path(s) that might be best for them based on what the test shows. Is this something that students (and their parents) should consider as they’re making plans for what their post-high school life will look like?
“Aptitude tests can be an invaluable tool for students navigating the crucial decisions surrounding their posthigh school paths,” says career coach Miriam Groom, founder and CEO of Mindful Career. “These assessments offer deep insights into a student’s natural inclinations, strengths and potential career paths, serving as a foundation for informed decision-making about their future.”
That, says Groom, is especially important in today’s educational landscape. “Given the dynamic nature of the job market and the emergence of new career fields, aptitude tests can help students identify their core competencies and align them with suitable career paths, potentially saving time and resources in pursuing misaligned educational or career paths,” she adds. “In an era where career change is common, starting with a clear understanding of one’s natural talents and how they translate into the working world can provide a significant advantage.”
Kenneth Glynn, founder at Career Navig8r, agrees that aptitude tests can help students explore potential and future interests and “give them inspiration about what to pursue.” However, he offers a few words of caution.
“Some students, parents and teachers can become overly reliant on these aptitude tests; they are only as insightful insofar as the questions are well-designed,” Glynn says, noting that it is important to remember the work landscape will look very different in a decade. “In that sense, the tests have limited utility when predicting what career will be the absolute best for the student.”
David Ciccarelli, founder of Lake, echoes Glynn.
“Aptitude tests can help start conversations and get students thinking about what interests them most. And even if a student isn’t naturally gifted in something, passion and motivation can push them to succeed beyond more naturally suited classmates,” Ciccarelli says.
But like Glynn, Ciccarelli says it is crucial not to take the results as a definitive guide.
“Aptitude changes as students learn and grow, so if a student stops exploring an area of interest because a test result said they should, they miss out on viable future opportunities,” Ciccarelli says. “We also know there are plenty of measures of intelligence and interest that vary. One aptitude test may give conflicting results with another because neither is 100% accurate.”