High school students can rejoice. There is now a personality quiz to help predict their career prospects and it’s not from Buzzfeed; it's ASU's new Me3 tool. (not to be mistaken with Mass Effect 3)
The application is designed for middle-and high school students as a way of exploring possible career choices. The quiz consists of a series of 60 questions that allows you to choose between images with varying work-place settings and pairs you up with three possible career choices leading to possible majors.
The tool also allows users to compare courses for specific majors and as well as view the average pay for certain careers.
But can stock images of work-place scenarios really duke out our futures? Some members of this summer's State Press staff, all journalism majors, took the quiz. Here's what they thought:
Isabella Castillio, news reporter
Top three careers:
- Choreographer
- Broadcast news analyst
- Preschool teacher
Reaction: While ASU’s new career quiz only just missed the mark when it spit back “Broadcast news analyst,” as a possible career option, the other two suggestions were laughable enough to safely dub it a fluke. Typically when I make life-altering decisions, I do so based on more than just a few stock images. That’s not to suggest that the quiz claims to shoulder the responsibility of choosing a career in its entirety, but I’d like to at least feel as though I’m being analyzed as an intelligent individual.
Kelcie Grega, Summer editor
Top three careers:
- Choreographer
- Middle school teacher
- Adult basic and secondary education and literacy teachers and instructors
Reaction: Coming from someone with the coordination of a drunk on roller-skates, I have to honestly say that choreographer has never been at the top of my list for possible careers. I’m just uncomfortable with any application that uses /r/youdontsurf stock images to predict my future.
Jessica Suerth, news reporter
Top three careers:
- Television/movie director
- Music director
- Choreographer
Reaction: I am not a fan of any type of "personality quiz" in particular, as I wasn't with this one, but this quiz threw me for a loop. It was very long and painstakingly dull, having the user pick one of two photos over a 60-question period. The photos were often pretty self-explanatory, which left no room for the user to explore non-traditional majors and careers. It also didn't seem like there was much of a thought process behind picking a major besides basic visualization and what was most appealing to the eye.
Aimee Plante, news reporter
Top three careers:
- Broadcast news analyst
- Secondary school teacher
- Guidance director
Reaction: First of all, I would like to point out that there is an important distinction between print and broadcast journalism students. I am much closer to the print variety myself, though I am glad to see my roots depicted in these results. As for teaching, that's not really an ideal career to me because I dislike children, but I feel like I could rock the high school English teacher vibe, so who knows?
Mitch Quesada, sports reporter
Top three careers:
- Public relations specialist
- Television/movie director
- Music director
Reaction: I actually would be happy in all of these career options because I have always enjoyed being in positions that involve working with and talking to various people. That was one of the biggest things that attracted me to journalism when I first considered it as a career. I also have a large interest in Hollywood and the world of entertainment so I would find it very intriguing to be a director as this quiz suggested. Interestingly, I have found myself comfortable in leadership roles before so being a director might have actually worked out very well for me.
Ben Moffat, photographer
Top three careers
- Art director
- Music composer and arranger
- Editor
Reaction: Well, that was unexpected. All of my results were things I either do now, have done in the past or have always wanted to do. I guess it was pretty spot-on for me. Even having to chose between two things I have no interest in – say, lab sciences and finance – sparked some thought into alternative career paths. That being said, some of the stock photos were unclear in what they were supposed to represent, and I'm certain I had to make choices that were just duplicates of previous choices.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
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