Online vocation Aptitude Tests - Are They Worth Trying?

If you are reasoning of changing your career, then why not try some online career aptitude tests? Are they honestly worth the attempt and do you get anything of value from the results? There are quite a lot of online tests out there - some better than others - so do they offer important help? Will they help you on your way with your career convert plans?

Are they worth trying?
But is it worthwhile taking these online tests, you may be asking? Do they honestly help when you are trying to find the right career? Well, yes and no! Here are some of the pros and cons as I see them.

Pros

• Easy to access - just fire up the internet and navigate to the page! So much easier than looking a master occupational psychologist, going along to take the test and then returning for your feedback.
• Quick to take - most online career aptitude test are quick and easy to take. You can perfect them in 5-15 minutes so they are not a big drain on your time.
• Instant results - you get your feedback at the click of a button, so you can characterize the record they offer and see what suggestions and ideas come up to help you with your career planning.
• More detailed feedback ready - most online career aptitude tests give you the option of accessing more detailed feedback, so if the results ring true for you, you can ask for more, though this will often be at a price. But the free estimation is a good way of testing the water before you part with any money!

Cons

• Superficial - let's face it, anything can throw up a quick questionnaire and post it online. So some online tests do not honestly add anything very new or surprising to your career research.
• Poorly designed - the best career aptitude tests are expertly designed and this takes time and money, so they are unlikely to be ready for free. Online tests may have little study behind then so you need to take the results with a pinch of salt.
• No magic solutions - no test, any way well designed, will offer you the magic solution to your career challenges. There will all the time be more data about you that has to be taken into account, so read your results with this in mind.
• Hidden costs - a test may be advertised for free, but you then find you have to pay for additional detailed feedback. This can be frustrating, but if the first results look interesting, it may well be worth paying for more information.

So on balance...?
I think some online career aptitude tests can give you a useful additional insight when you are researching new career ideas. At the early stages of planning a career change, it is all the time a good idea to gawk your options in as many ways as possible. And you can often find that just by reasoning about the answers to the questions in these assessments, you find things about yourself that are relevant to your career search.