[salukigirl]

A little background.....My bf already has his BS in forestry and is in the process of completing his thesis for a MS in forestry also. His adviser became interim chair at the beginning of his MS and hasn't had any time for him. He started his MS in January of 2008! He should have been graduated about a year ago but will send his adviser chapters to revise and won't get them back for months at a time. He calls him, sends him emails and texts him but just doesn't get any response. He was supposed to defend next week and that's not gonna happen either. So needless to say he is DONE with school and research right now due to this experience with his adviser.

He is so unhappy with his career options though. All he can really do with a MS in forestry is basically timber sales. And he enjoys being out and hiking all day but that's not what he wants to do for the next 30 years. Not to mention the war has really depleted funding and jobs are scarce in the forest service.

So we were talking the other day and I asked him if he even really LIKED research. He said he likes learning and likes school but hates writing. So a PhD is out of the question bc he does NOT want to do any kind of dissertation or grant writing. But he has taught before and loves teaching. And he loves kids.

So I suggested....have you ever thought about teaching? You love kids, you love helping people and love solving problems but hate writing publications and such. So that, to me, signals that teaching elementary or middle school would be perfect for him. Since he already has the BS and almost an MS, he could get through a MAT pretty quickly and become certified probably within a year or so.

He just seems so lost and doesn't really know what he wants. Does anyone know of any kind of resources for aptitude tests in careers? I have done a search but they all seem like scams. It seems like they basically just try to get you to buy into online colleges and don't really give you a good answer. Or has anyone been in this kind of situation before? I try to be supportive and motivational but it's hard when he has no clue of what he really wants to do. And I think some of it is the fact that he is almost 28 and is starting to realize that he's not going to be where he wanted to be at 30. But it's hard to get him to open up about it because I know he feels insecure about where he is in life right now. And it makes him feel bad to openly say that he doesn't know what he wants. Ugh. This is frustrating.

[Perna]

I had Johnson O'Connor aptitude testing, very legit and helpful to me, and it includes some cross-over to what would be a good occupational fit: http://www.jocrf.org/ Don't know if any of their testing centers are close enough to where you are though.

I would go to the local/school library and look through the Occupational Outlook Handbook too, see if anything grabs his fancy: http://www.bls.gov/OCO/

[salukigirl]

Thanks Perna. I went to the Princeton Review website but it's just 24 questions and all they ask is "would you rather be an accountant or a nurse" type of questions. Seems kind of silly when you're trying to find out what would suit you best. I'll ask him if he wants to go to the library in between football lol (seems bad of me to ask this on a playoff weekend!)

[Perna]

Johnson O'Connor's testing literally changed my life, was worth the $200-something I paid in the mid-1970's for it. It helped, therapeutically, with understanding that genetic aptitude trumped everyday logic/desire. I had a problem I didn't believe I "should" have because of my education so I was ashamed but the testing revealed it weren't my fault! and gave suggestions on how to get around the problem. It truly helped me to understand myself better and be more comfortable with what was there, literally rather than what I thought should be there because I'd been told by others that I should do/be/feel/etc. a certain way. In short, it was great for my self-esteem.