The Q: I'm a 23 year old student, and I am still undecided on my future career goal. Is there any websites or tests online, that I could take to help me get an idea at what I might be interested in going for?

The A: There are some self-tests online that might help you out a little (I'll link to a couple below), but personally I don't have a ton of faith in them. I think they're fine if you personally have no idea at all what you're interested in studying, but everyone has at least some idea of what they enjoy doing, and feeling comfortable with that is much more important than choosing an actual job (you can take care of that later). If you already have some awareness of what you enjoy -- think back to long-time hobbies, previous high-school or college courses that piqued your curiosity, particularly fascinating conversations you've had or speeches you've heard, books/magazines/newspaper articles you tend to like reading the most -- you're usually much better off using that as the base from which to choose your classes (and, eventually, your major, and a job), rather than relying on the results of a quick test.

One thing I'd urge you to keep in mind while you're going through this decision-making process: Your learning won't end when you get your degree. Sure, you'll need to pick a major, and eventually you'll need to decide on a path you'd like to take after you graduate. But remember that no job is permanent, nor is any one career path. You can always come back to the other subjects (and other jobs) that interested you, whether by taking extra classes after you've graduated, going to grad school, trying out lots of different types of jobs and internships, or teaching yourself in your own spare time.

If you'd like, write back and tell me a little more about yourself, and I'd be happy to try to lend more of a hand. In the meantime, though, here are the links I promised -- only a couple are actual quizzes, the rest is assorted other stuff related to choosing a major that might be worth a look.

• Choosing a Major Workbook (from U. Minnesota)
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter (not so much a career test as it is a way for you to get a better idea of your own interests and personality traits)
• eHow to Choose a Major in College (not a quiz; more a bunch of recommendations; free registration at eHow is required to read this page)
• Major Stressing (our own set of columns from students on how they chose their majors)
  
• Undergraduate Majors & Interests (a large section of U North Texas' website, where they describe many college majors and the types of jobs people with those majors usually seek after graduation)
  

Best wishes!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor

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