Career Test Vs. Career Coach — Which One is a Complete Waste of Time?

OneCube Coaching
8 min readDec 9, 2021

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When it comes to figuring out the best career choice, we try not to leave any stone unturned.

Because it’s a matter of shaping our future- about which we remain worried all the time.

So many questions hammer on our minds, tons of career choices for one degree and other career aspects overwhelm us.

We seek our last resort on the web to give our minds some relief.

And find Two Great Solutions:

  1. Taking a Career Assessment Test
  2. Hiring a Career Coach

What is a Career Assessment Test?

It is a predefined test where you need to answer tons of questions and then get some career options that best fit your personality. It takes you two to three hours to complete a famous career test.

Who is a Career Coach?

A career coach is an expert who helps you make smooth career changes, set and achieve professional goals, and also handle your current job well. This expert has a solution for every problem related to a career.

Both options seem great, but the question is, what’s nothing but a waste of time.

Career TEST Vs. Career Coach

Let’s compare them based on the following points:

Reliability

Can you rely on a test conducted by software and program? Well, I don’t think so.

But still, many people take career tests and share their experiences.

Indeed, a renowned career test sprinkles tons of best career choices, but it’s not as reliable as advice from a career coach is.

Example 1-

A student takes a career test, and most of his answers are influenced by his social circle, family, and especially parents. You define yourself by thinking of how people think of you. To choose the best career, you need to dive deep inside yourself.

Results of this test will be based on input.

When the input isn’t accurate and not well-thought; how you can rely on its results then.

Reliability of career coach vs career test

EXAMPLE 2-

A student has no clear vision for his career. He connects with a career expert at OneCubeCoaching. Within 1–2 sessions, he gets a clear idea about his strength, weakness, and available options. This professional will open a window from where a student can see himself clearly. This one-to-one session is a must. A career coach asks questions and then shares insight. From setting career goals to defining his client’s personality, this expert can do real wonder. Besides, it’s a human-to-human connection that is always more reliable than a program or test interface. Don’t you think?

Key Takeaway: A career coach is a more reliable choice in selecting the right career than a Career Test.

Cost

The main reason for preferring a test over the career coach option is the PRICE.

Yes, it will cost you around $100–300 per session to hire an expert for career advice, but this cost is well worth it.

Cost of career coaching vs career test

Imagine taking a career test and choosing the wrong career path. It means you spend your time, energy, and efforts on something that wasn’t meant for you. All your passion is directed toward the wrong path.

It won’t be wrong to say that you wasted your time and passion.

If you had chosen the right career and work only on your passion, opening the door to success won’t be a challenge.

Yes, you saved your money at first, but this saving means nothing as you put your future at risk for it.

Can you afford this level of risk? I don’t think so.

What to do then?

Please pay session fee of career coach to know your options, and to find one career that matches your persona. You are not paying a coach. You are investing in yourself. And you will reap its ROI in the future.

Key takeaway: Free Career assessment test might save you money at first, but it will cost you a bright future -especially when you make a wrong career choice.

Time Consumption

Career assessment tests are incredibly time-consuming. Some take one hour while others take more than two hours.

After the first hour, you usually:

-Lose interest

-Start picking an answer without thinking twice.

-Think of having another exciting option.

time consumption career coach vs career test

And what’s the worst-case scenario? Well, you can get an error.

YES, it’s possible.

Aaron J. Kelley Spent 2 hours on a Career Aptitude Test as he was determined to find the right career option.

But he wasted two whole hours on these tests. And concluded that:

“How could I expect a website and a few questions to sum up my existence and the course of my future? How could I leave something so important in the hands of someone or something else?”

So, it would help if you kept an open mind when trying a career assessment test. Anything is possible.

On the Flip Side, it usually takes less than sixty minutes when you plan a meeting with a career coach.

You don’t get bored as it’s a conversation, not a test format.

Your mind doesn’t distract you, as experts know how to keep you engaged.

And you don’t face the worst scenario of getting an error.

You will experience an ideal scenario- Knowing some new things about yourself like your strengths, skills, and other aspects.

Key Takeaway : Career test consumes more time than career counselling session. And many times you end up with nothing but generic results or worst case scenario “ system error”.

Popularity

Whether you accept it or not, you may think of taking a career test as it has become a popular choice among youth. If a person relies on Search engines to get answers of every career-related issue, it’s not uncommon to get directed toward a test.

Don’t you believe me?

Try this: Type in Google- “What to do with my Career?”

You will get some articles that you may not like to read or read them and scroll down and find out these options.

Test, quizzes, etc.

I don’t know what to do with my career -career coach guideline

Try another keyword: What to do with my career and see suggestion:

What is right career for me -career assessment

So, all of them are quizzes, career tests, or tests.

I won’t feel surprised if many of us open a webpage containing a career test.

We are like, ‘let’s do it.”

When you search for the best Career Tests, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator/ MBTI scores the top position. It’s one of the most popular tests you can have to identify the right career for you.

Yes, it worked for many people. Millions of others take it to know their personality and get an idea about available career choices.

According to Jonathan Adrian, MBTI is rigged. Jonathan Adrian reported in his post that, “A unique phenomenon I noticed in many test-takers was how they tend to resort to a fixed mindset when it comes to rationalizing their actions and understanding themselves.”

But, keep in mind that popularity doesn’t necessarily mean credibility and accuracy. It’s still a fully programmed test performed — no human interaction is there, and no one assesses every answer to provides you with a meaningfu insight.

Here I would like to mention M. R. Clark:

She didn’t learn anything new about potential jobs from three popular career aptitude test websites such as :

  1. The Princeton Review
  2. Truity
  3. 123TEST

According to Ryan Kubalek @ryankubalek, Career TESTS are worthless. He states,

“Most career tests are simply a mirror reflecting to you what you already know about yourself and are thus limited by how well you know yourself. They do this by design.”

Career Counseling and Coaching is another popular option. But many people don’t go for it as they think it’s rich-people thing or don’t like to pay the cost.

Let me clear one thing — Coaches aren’t only for rich people. I don’t think so. They are experts ready to help you set some reasonable goals and achieve them, no matter where they are standing.

They are not the moon that you can’t touch and have no access to.

We need to normalize hiring a career coach in our society to get the right direction for our career.

They are accessible, and you can connect with them readily at OneCubeCoaching.com

Key Takeaway: Yes, career tests and quizzes are popular but have limitations and aren’t fully valid. On the flip side, Career coaches are famous, too, but only in Elite classes; you need to embrace them in your class too.

Final Thoughts

If you ask me Career Assessment VS.Career Coach, what option is worthless or a complete waste of time, I would say none.

Yes, you can’t entirely rely on a career test, and its results aren’t as accurate as you want them to be, but it helps you figure out your personality and find some good career options. What would be wrong is to rely only on a career test.

Keep in Mind.

Career Coach means human connection, while Career Test means robotic connection.

The test doesn’t take variables like your mindset or feelings into account.

During the career change scenario, you have a lot going on in your mind, and in that scenario, you need a human at your side or an expert in the career field to get you. Attempting only for a career test will be a big mistake.

Don’t forget to READ: 10 Times a Career Coach can help You when No one Can

Get to know more about yourself through a test, but don’t choose a career path solely based on the most famous test.

Remember, this mistake will cost you your “Future” Are you ready to take that amount of risk??

Of course not, step into reality and embrace one-to-one career advice sessions at ONECUBECOACHING.COM.

I have shared my viewpoint, please tell me what you think about these two options?

Which one will you prefer and why?

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