Funding a Career Test Doesn't Mean You Have a Careers Education Program

I rarely meet an adult who doesn’t have a funny story about the future career suggested to them during a career test in high school. Students regularly report their tests giving them the ‘wrong’ answer, thanks in part to limited options, or being suggested roles without any wider context.

‘You’re a… (drumroll)... nurse!’

For many, the test results are as anxiety-inducing and random as the Hogwarts Sorting Hat. We’ve seen students demand to re-sit their test as the results are ‘wrong’, and tune out of any follow-up conversations.

Despite this, there are many schools that place a career test as the main event in their careers program. Box. Ticked. When there’s not much time in the curriculum for careers education, it’s easy for schools to see careers tests as a quick, simple, and cost-effective way to ‘do’ careers as efficiently as possible.

Sure, some tests are valid, reliable and even useful, particularly for those young people who are struggling to decide on the best next step in their learning and life. But many are flawed in design, coming up with ‘answers’ or career recommendations that are dangerously narrow or limited.

There’s also added pressure when parents view these tests as reliable, ‘scientific’ information about their child that will provide guidance and direction for their future. If their child isn’t given a role that they deem ‘at the right level’ for their child, there’s a real risk of dismissing or even discouraging their child’s career ambitions. Parent reaction to test results can have a serious impact on student wellbeing, and schools must be ready to help their students navigate these often turbulent waters.

Tests based on interest matching have been proven again and again to have little predictive power over future happiness or success. Use them with caution, and never rely on them to complete your entire career program.

Here are some of the most common dangers and pitfalls when it comes to the (in)famous high school career test, and how to avoid them. 

Pitfall 1: Using the Test as the Source of Truth
Careers aren’t linear, but career tests can often make students feel like they are. Testing for one single role – one that will determine what a child is going to ‘be’ – is a huge pressure to put on students. It’s not only stressful, but it’s the wrong question to ask. It implies that a job is the most important part of a person, and will define who they are when they get older.

It also implies that a single path is the standard. In fact, the opposite is true: research by Professors Jim Bright and Robert Pryor found that 80–100% of people say that an unexpected event or events changed the course of their career. Clearly, a test that offers a single, direct career path isn’t an accurate reflection of real life.

It’s important that children don’t feel pressure to make one choice and stick to it. Educators should use uncommitted language to show that they are making a low-stakes career choice ‘for now’ or that they can ‘try on for size’ – and we need to be absolutely clear to students that they can change their minds. Changing your mind isn’t a failure, it’s actually a sign of growth.

Flexibility, self-efficacy and the courage to design their own careers are crucial skills young people will need for the future world of work. Career education must show students that a single ‘career path’ isn’t the ultimate goal to strive for.

Pitfall 2: Encouraging Students to Take a Back Seat in Their Own Careers
Tests that give students career recommendations fail to develop any of the skills and thinking around how to explore, design and navigate your future. It’s passive in the extreme.

Schools should not rely on tests as a crutch to help young people sit back and get ‘an answer’ about their future. Tests should only be used as an additional source of insight after students have already learned how to assess and think about options for their future.

Career education should teach students to make active choices, overcome obstacles, revise and learn about what motivates them and the types of environments they want to work in. It should show that people grow, learn and change in their careers – and give them the confidence to take control over those shifts.

Pitfall 3: Waiting for Inspiration
‘Inspiration about your future is due for all students in Week 9, Term 2, in Year 10.’ Ridiculous, right? The truth is, inspiration cannot be scheduled for a later date. It's vital that educators and parents alike begin having career conversations with young people a lot earlier than they might expect.

BECOME Education’s data shows that 80% of Year five and six students are thinking about their future life and career often or all the time, yet less than 10% have discussed their ideas with a teacher. Whether students are inspired, stressed or ambivalent about their future, proactive schools should be on the front foot in having these conversations regularly as soon as possible.

Doing the test in Year 9 or 10 with no prior career education typically means that students still lack quality self-awareness and the critical thinking skills to work through the results carefully. In contrast, a school that puts students in the driving seat from an early age can give them agency over their own future. As a result, young people will grow more resilient and hopeful about the challenges and opportunities life will throw their way.