MyCareerChoices

What is a career test for students?

A career test for students asks about the things you like doing, the subjects you enjoy and the way you like to work, then suggests career areas that match. Most quick online career quizzes ask a handful of questions and give a short list of jobs. MyCareerChoices goes further: students answer 300 questions, and the results link their interests and abilities to career areas and to the post-16 subject choices that lead to them.

The MyCareerChoices student journey

1. Join through school. Your school enrols you and gives you access to the online platform.
2. Answer the questions. The questionnaire has 300 questions and takes about 30 to 40 minutes online.
3. Get your report. You see the career areas that best match your interests and abilities, with recommended careers, job roles, qualifications and earnings.
4. Explore careers. Research each career in WORKBRIEF, our careers directory with over 500 job profiles.
5. Link subjects to careers. The Future Options section shows which subjects lead to the careers you are interested in, whether A Levels, T Levels, BTEC, the IB, Scottish Highers or any other qualifications your school offers, and points to apprenticeship routes too. Schools set it up to match their own post-16 offer.
6. Plan your next steps. Record your research and experiences in MyFutureJourney, and use the Personal Reflection and Action Plan pages to talk things through with your careers adviser and your family.

What is in the MyCareerChoices report?

Each student gets a personalised report, online or as a PDF, that brings their interests and abilities together to help with subject choices and career ideas. It includes:

• Interest Profile and Overall Match: 51 occupational and academic interest areas in order, from the strongest. The Overall Match for each career area is the average of the main interest and five supporting interests that contribute to success in that field.
• Careers Selection Worksheets: for the top career areas (about nine), listing related careers and the qualifications they usually need.
• Subject Selection and Availability Charts: the student’s interest level for each subject group in the qualifications the school offers (for example A Levels, T Levels, BTEC, the IB or Scottish Highers), to help choose subjects.
• MyAptitude results: speed, accuracy and percentiles for each test area, if the student has also taken MyAptitude.
• The Mind Map, My Action Plan and Careers Analysis Forms: to research careers in WORKBRIEF and plan the next steps.
• Exploring your next steps: an appendix on routes after school, including school leaver programmes and apprenticeships.

Staff get a summary for each student, showing their top career areas, the subjects they appear interested in, how they answered the questionnaire (yes, maybe or no), and their MyAptitude results.

Who does what: students, parents and schools

• Students: answer honestly, read the report, research the careers that interest you and record what you find.
• Parents and carers: talk through the report and action plan with your child, and help them look into the careers and subjects it suggests.
• Schools and careers staff: set up the programme, set tasks and deadlines, track progress in MyHQ, and use the results in careers guidance conversations.

What do career test results tell you?

Your MyCareerChoices results show the career areas where your interests are highest, how those careers link to your subject choices, and what each career involves: the job roles, the qualifications you need, typical earnings and the routes in. They are career suggestions to explore, not instructions.

How accurate are career tests for students?

A career test is only as good as your answers and what you do next. MyCareerChoices combines an interest questionnaire with norm-referenced aptitude tests, so results reflect both what you enjoy and what you do well. Your interests may change as you learn more and gain experience, so treat your results as a starting point for research and conversations, not a final answer.

What to do after taking a career test

• Pick three or four suggested careers and read their WORKBRIEF profiles.
• Check which subjects and qualifications each one needs, and compare them with your options.
• Talk to your careers adviser, your teachers and your family about what you found.
• Look for work experience, open days or employer talks linked to the careers you like.
• Revisit your results when you make your next big choice, such as post-16 or university options.

Is there a free career test for students?

MyCareerChoices is taken through schools and colleges that use MyFutureChoice. If your school doesn’t use it, there are free options: the National Careers Service offers a free Discover your skills and careers assessment of under 50 questions that takes 5 to 10 minutes, and you can try our free MyAptitude practice tests to see what an aptitude test is like.