Having your teen take the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation aptitude test is, hands down, the very best thing you can do for their college and/or career planning. The JOC test presents an accurate picture of one’s aptitudes—consider these natural-born strengths that don’t change with time. An example is ideaphoria, the ability to generate ideas rapidly. This aptitude is a must for fields like sales or teaching. Having a low ideaphoria score is not a bad thing, it just steers you away from potentially frustrating jobs where a fast flow of ideas is critical. Amalgamating all the aptitudes and coming up with themes and solutions is what Krista and her team do elegantly. The staff members at the Atlanta office are top notch—knowledgeable, friendly and always open to any questions we have. The aptitude profiles for our teenagers have helped immensely in guiding them into the college majors and career fields that will suit them best.
Our oldest took the JOC test following her sophomore year of high school, knowing what she wanted to study. When we received her results, it was clear she was gifted in her field of interest, Data Science (her ideal career was on the recommended careers list), but there were aspects to the field she had not considered and careers that she had never been exposed to before that clicked with her interests. For her, the test was a clarifier and showed her how her performance in school correlated with her aptitudes. (Plus, she’s a data/numbers girl, so she has loved messing around with the numbers in a spreadsheet she created).
Our second daughter took the JOC mid-sophomore year. She had very little idea of what she wanted to study and felt that her academic abilities did little to help understand that. Her score report and aptitude profile revealed strong skills in areas she had never thought about before. Over the past few months, she has been researching all of the careers that her JOC report recommended (specifically visual design and computer science). For her, the test was an eye-opener and gave her direction she did not previously have.
Our third daughter took the JOC a few months ago at the age of 14—the minimum age for testing. Her mix of aptitudes (combined with her interests) make her well suited for sales/marketing and communications careers. This was somewhat of a surprise, but then we had many “aha” moments as we saw the connected dots in her results. Her fearlessness to sing or speak in front of a crowd now made perfect sense!
Additionally, aptitudes are also just plain fun to apply to everyday life. When there’s something to be done around the house, we’ll find out whose aptitude in that area is the strongest, and we spend time pondering, “How would this aptitude apply here? Why do I think this way instead of this way?”
For those who raise eyebrows at the fee (as we initially did), ask yourself this— how much money is wasted when choosing the wrong college or career field? Consider spending some upfront money which might save you thousands of dollars in the long run. The cost of the test includes a free follow-up within a year of the test date.
The JOC aptitude test is one of the greatest investments you can make for your child’s future!