When should I do a formal career assessment to help determine my education path?

As I am Canadian and most familiar with the Canadian school system, I will use it as an example of best timing for an assessment. If you are outside of Canada, you will be able to apply this logic to your own system.

First of all, you should be at least 16 years old to complete the Strong Interest Inventory to achieve a valid response. It is interesting to note that the psychological researches say, if you complete the assessment when you are 16 and then again later in life, when you are 36 for example, you will get the same or similar results. This is because this particular assessment is based on your 'inherent' interests which you tend to carry with you throughout life.

Secondly, in my experience the best time to take part in a career assessment exercise like this is near the end of your Grade 11 year, just before you start picking your courses for Grade 12.

We kind of work backwards. We start with what the results of your assessment and our conversation conclude about a good, realistic career choice for you. Only then will you have the clarity to pick the appropriate Grade 12 courses, that will enable you to apply for the post secondary programs that will get you to your ultimate career objective! It is also helpful in our planning, to review some of the university/college course descriptions to get an idea of what the options are and what we can get excited about!! There are so many course options available... the world is your oyster!! www.declareitcareers.com @louiseahack #declareitcareers #careercounseling  #studentlife #studentproblems #student #highschool #university #college #careerguidance #careercoaching #careergoals #empoweryourself #careerassessment #goals #getexcited