Hello Readers,
I want to pose a question to you before we get into the pleasantries,
“What do you want to be when you grow up…?”
Yes. I know the dreaded question that has the ability to suck the very warmth out of a room. It has the ability to draw the attention of the cold judgmental eyes around you. It is the question that is always asked when relatives come for a visit. The very inquiry of this question usually leads to sweaty palms, lamenting sighs of parents, disdain towards the asker, and the haughty looks from cousins who have already figured life out.
But, fortunately for me…I can avoid the looks of disdain since you do not know where I live.
So, I will risk asking again.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Are you a hundred percent certain? Will you be happy?
If you can answer these questions with the utmost certainty, congratulations you are ahead of the game called life! If you cannot answer this question right now, it is ok you are not alone.
For those of you who were not definite, would you
consider giving a personality test the ability to chose a career for you?
My name is Viniti Parikh and you have stumbled upon a simple senior who is about to begin her adventure in the jungle that is her Senior Research Project. I will be updating this blog twice a week (or more) and spending the next three months in Lecanto, Florida interning at both a Hospital and Private Practice searching for an answer to my research question: Are personality tests an effective way to determine opportune careers in the Education and Medical field?
Many would argue that those who hold a vocation in the Health and Education industry contribute the most to our present and future society. Recent analysis has reflected an increase in the amount of colleges asking students to take personality tests in order to better guide them in their careers. They have been specifically implemented in medical schools in order to taper the specialties physicians should consider when starting residency and in teaching schools in order to narrow down the age range a student would be most effective in. The purpose behind these personality tests are to find the best match between people and careers, but according to Newsweek, only 19% of the US population is satisfied with their jobs. The significance of this statistic might not be seen at first, but what that ultimately means is that 81% of the US population is unsatisfied with their job. Have you done anything you really hate? Did you do a try your best despite your revulsion towards it? Probably not...right?
The importance behind this research project that ultimately made me want to conduct this study stems from both my bias and my concern. The bias that I hold on the subject comes from my uncle’s regrets, my school’s administration belief that as students we have the ability to be anything we want in life, and my belief that personality is shaped and not inherent. While my concerns stems from the fact that I do not want dissatisfied people to be trapped in a field where a personality test told them that was where they belong.
With this research project I will analyze the effectiveness of personality typing and whether it is a reliable tool in determining opportune career choices. I hope to prove that personality tests are not an effective way to predict future careers, that they can be improved, and that personality is not as stagnant as tests believe them to be. But the counterarguments to the goals of my research project are quite significant: People might not really change, personality might be inherent, and personality tests might be effective for more people than I previously anticipated. It sounds like there are a lot of factors against me, but I am up for the challenge!
