Took a career test that said I should be a florist after 15 years in IT

I've been in IT support for about 15 years now. Got laid off last month and figured I'd try one of those online career aptitude tests my wife kept pushing. Paid $40 for the full version. It asked me 200 questions about whether I like puzzles and if I'm good with people. The result came back saying my top match is floral arrangement. Second match was groundskeeping. I spent the last decade fixing server crashes and fighting with printers. Now I'm supposed to arrange daisies for a living. I guess the test picked up on me liking to solve problems and work alone sometimes. Still feels like a gut punch though. Has anyone else taken one of these tests and gotten something completely off base?

2 comments

2 Comments

price.tyler1mo ago

My buddy Mark took one of those tests after getting pushed out of a sales job he hated for 8 years. The test told him his dream job was "wilderness firefighter" which we all laughed at because the guy is terrified of campfires. He actually tried applying to the Forest Service and everything, got through two interviews before they asked him to do a physical fitness test and he realized he couldn't run a mile without stopping. He's still doing IT at a different company now.

haydenp951mo ago

That part about "couldn't run a mile without stopping" hit me hard because I wonder how many people take these tests and just totally ignore the physical reality of the jobs. Like the test told me florist, but I've got a bad back from sitting in an office chair wrong for 15 years and I'm pretty sure standing on concrete all day trimming stems isn't gonna help that. Do you think your buddy ever looked back and realized the test was just picking up on some vague personality trait he had, or was it really just a total miss? I keep trying to figure out if maybe I'm missing something obvious about myself or if these tests are just scams.