I did the assessment in 1984, 40 years ago. So I can give you a longitudinal review here. I believe their premise of testing aptitudes predominantly is inadequate and shortsighted, as just testing for aptitudes does not guarantee success. One can have an aptitude for something but also hate it and have a sorrowful life. I also disagree that aptitudes are inherent and interests are not. I think a better word would be passions, as our passions are inherent as well as our aptitude and to ignore passions is not logical. I can attest to that as I was directed towards a more analytical career, Which, even though I am analytical, I am also very feeling and empathetic, and that is my passion, without following one's passion, a person os courting a difficult life. Basically, my engineering Dad and Mom paid for my sister and I to do it and it showed that I was good with analytical skills. Therefore, I was repeatedly encouraged to return to computer science, even though I could not stand it because I happen to also be very empathetic And want to help people, not program computers. I wish I had taken the Myers-Briggs instead or with it, as it turns out I am a ENFP and INFP which would've helped me greatly to know and choose a career working with people that Johnson O'Connor was not able to direct me to, and unfortunately, it cost me years of my life. It feels more like a very thinking oriented assessment for people like my dad who just focus on thoughts and skills, but subordinate feelings, which in my case was a serious error and I believe applies to others as well. For anyone thinking about this, I recommend watching Sir Ted Robinson's TED talk and buying his book, on The Element, the intersection of our passions and abilities. read more

I am very happy to see that so many people have found value in the JOC Aptitude Testing. I took the tests back in 1980 and, for me, it turned out to be a lesson in when not to listen to someone. For me, the tests did not test me correctly. I was told I had poor dexterity because I did not fill enough holes with pins (speed) while I did fill every hole I encountered with the full amount of pins (3) and never skipped a pin hole (diligence, perfection, and a strong work ethic). I was told I should avoid jobs that require dexterity. Had a similar encounter with the Wiggly blocks where I figured out the six (6) blocks in record time, but it was determined to be an anomaly because I failed to account for the middle block of the nine (9) piece in my solution algorithm. That's like telling Elon Musk his self landing rockets are an anomaly and he should move on to something else. The few weeks of testing took the wind out of my sails as they told me not to become an engineer, but to do something related to listening to music due to my excellent tonal identification skills. It's now 41 years later and my hearing is not what it used to be and now I have to contend with my tinnitus 10Hz tone ringing in my ears, but I continue to provide engineering solutions using all the skills I did not test well in back in 1980 at JOC. I guess the JOC tests taught me to listen to my inner voice, continue to hone my innovative and detail-oriented skills, and prove them wrong. Engineer - Bell Labs, Cisco read more

The testing is very interesting, varied, and broad. You are able to take home nicely written summaries and test findings. However, my son never used his "post testing consultation" to review the findings again after doing some job searching, and was told the time had expired when he did call for a consultation after the pandemic. Has it really helped him? If you don't have someone knowledgeable about the areas to guide you, its questionable. Not everyone is brilliant and can understand all the results and use them without help. It was a lot of money, and a lot of effort to get him there. read more

I took the test in high school though I have now graduated from college and I have been surprised by how accurate my test results have aligned with and predicted my future life and goals. I highly recommend taking this test and doing a follow-up conversation a few years later as it will not only help you better understand yourself but it will also help you decide on different career paths. Krista was extremely helpful and clearly explained the results. This organization was definitely worth the time and money! read more

All of my family including three grandchildren have taken this test... At different offices. I am happy to report that the understanding we received as to our attitudes was outstanding. It might be that you do not know exactly what you should be doing, but your aptitudes and their correlation with your career are still appropriate to hear and understand! read more

I just completed a review of results from testing in 1983. Ashley was super helpful. This is a great investment in yourself. read more

Life changing and SO satisfying! This program was life changing, not only for myself (when I was 30 years old) but also for my siblings, nieces and nephews to whom I've been recommending the JO'C aptitude testing for years! My sister was studying industrial engineering at Poly but was not feeling it was a good fit, and she couldn't say why. JO'C led her to consider graphic design, she changed her major. She's now a very talented graphic designer and JO'C started her on her successful career! My good friend went with her son when he was a senior in high school and it helped him choose between two college majors he was considering. For me, it did not change my path but was a lesson in which aptitudes I needed to use in my life -- whether in career or hobbies or for fun. It offers a wealth of information which sheds light on all kinds of things, struggles, choices and direction, leading to greater life satisfaction and happiness. It's totally worth every dime and I would strongly suggest considering this if you have a college-bound child in high school. It's truly illuminating. read more

Life changing. What can I really add to that? Ok, you're thinking to yourself, "I've taken a ton of these tests, from the Myers-Briggs to goodness knows what ... how is this any different? And $600? Give me a break!" Here's the difference: all the other tests ASK YOU questions, and then slice and dice and feed back your own responses to you. Whatever you BELIEVE, in some way, that's what they report. Johnson O'Connor doesn't care what you think. They TEST how well you do stuff. For me, that showed up as only low to middling scores in my fields of study and work, and in other areas where I had 99%-ile SAT/GRE ... and 99%-ile scores in the areas where I was afraid I'd be embarrassingly low! Quite an eye opener, let me tell you. And yes, I did (slowly) move in the direction of their recommendations, changed careers, and have never been happier. Yes, $600 is a lot of money, compared to, oh, a new pair of jeans. But compared to the cost of a college education, or the value of your own career, not to mention happiness? Good luck! read more

Not sure what you want to be if you grow up? Time for a career change? Wondering if you could find happiness as, say, an astronomer, lawyer, fireman, translator, pilot, or neurologist? Just getting out of school or thinking of going back? Johnson O'Connor can be a tremendous help making the right choice. Johnson O'Connor Researc Foundation, a nonprofit organization spun out of General Electric in 1922, does aptitude testing and counseling. If you want objective, rigorous insight into your strengths, weaknesses and how they match up with particular careers, Johnson O'Connor is the place to go. You start with a seven hour battery of aptitude tests. A few examples are spatial memory and reasoning, idea flow, manual dexterity, rhythm, tone, drawing, observation, vocabulary, numbers, visual skill and foreign language learning. Your scores on both individual tests and groups of test drive the next phase, counseling. During the counseling phase, Johnson O'Connor starts with a database of professions and score patterns correlated with success in them, and background about your own interests and goals. They will suggest directions you might go, or comment on the match between your interests and aptitudes. For example, successful physicians universally do well on tests that measure three dimensional reasoning. If you are in the bottom ten percent of the population for this aptitude and also not strong in other traits correlated with success in medicine you might hear something like "These scores suggest you'd have a very, very tough time getting through medical school, and are unlikely to be happy as a physician. But if you are interested in healing professions, your scores suggest you could become a great psychologist, grief councilor or clergyman." Counseling is not, by the way, someone just reading a printout. Expect a pretty intense 60-90 minute discussion. I went through Johnson O'Connor myself, and was invited by a friend who also did to sit in on his counseling. I found that my test results and life experiences meshed perfectly, and gained some good insight into my options as well as perspective on previous achievements. I believe my friend would say the same thing. Johnson O'Connor charges $600, though I understand their cost is closer to $1300 (an endowment makes up the difference) and requires three trips to their offices. But if a new field is something you are serious about, the money and time are extremely low risk and high return investments. http://www.jocrf.org/index.html read more

Feeling curious about yourself and what you want to do with your life? Feeling stuck in a job or project that's not making you happy? The Johnson O'conner Research Foundation can really help! I found the aptitude tests are very interesting and challenging but the real benefit comes from the analysis and guidance you get from the people who work there. I received focused and undivided attention and was able to ask tons of questions and receive thoughtful, very helpful answers back. There is no judgement about what your strengths and weaknesses may be. I received solid help with figuring out which types of careers or tracks of education might be most rewarding and successful for me. I often refer back to my notes when I feel I'm getting stuck in my life and need a reminder about what I'm naturally inclined to do. I highly recommend investing in and exploring yourself with help from these folks. The pricing is very reasonable and the information and experience received is invaluable. read more

Just had my 15yo take these tests as she was feeling lost about her future. She is on the young side so maybe not quite the ideal age for career advice but we both thought it was very helpful. She is now considering fields she wouldn't have thought of on her own and they also suggested a career path she had given up on for the wrong reasons. The people at Johnson O'Connor were pleasant and professional and I would recommend their services to anyone trying to figure out what jobs they are well suited for in life. read more

The idea is a great idea and certainly can be life changing, but this company is stuck in the 1970's and haven't entered into the computer age. A look at their website and it will give you an idea of just how stuck in the mud they are. Their testing maybe good but the take away is not up to today's standards. They give you a printout of a chart and a book of careers that was written back in the 1970's and updated in the 90's which is not up to date. You have to sort things out for yourself, which you wouldn't expect in today's world of computers. Compared to others it is substandard. Also if you're a student good luck getting an appointment, they have old fashion banker's hours which don't work very well. Aptitude testing is a great idea, but finding another company would give you better results. read more

I went through Johnson O'Connor Research (JOCRF) aptitude testing nearly a decade ago. I had been in sales and wasn't crazy about it and recently went back to get a Masters in Psychology, much different than my BA in Economics and Intl Relations. So I was searching and someone recommended JOCRF. Although I was a bit hesitant since I didn't know what to expect and feared hearing something I didn't want to hear, I did it. The testing is not easy since there are many different ones to do and takes a few visits. Sometimes I wonder if I took it over whether I would have different results but although one can re-do it, there is a margin of error in their findings. Aptitudes are innate skills, not learned behavior. What they are trying to find is whether a person is a Michael Jordan in their field, be it music, engineering, sales, etc. One can have low scores and actually be high in a skill. They give suggestions on where to look and what the findings show. One might say that job requirements have changed since 1922 when this system was started but it may explain why salespeople and other professions jump around from job to job and may not be successful. All of my 10 years of sales work is not lost since I am able to market myself with my own business: http://www.webridge.org . Experience does play a big part of success at one's job which they discuss, but aptitudes do too. For me, much of the work started after the test results. The foundation is not a job placement. Once my testing completed, I read books written by people who have taken the exam, such as Your Natural Gifts by Margaret Broadley which map out different aptitudes with different jobs. I left the counseling field and returned to sales but have avoided doing full time sales. I have some of the skills of a counselor but low inductive reasoning leading to patience may not necessarily be helpful since it might be good to come to some type of diagnosis for treating the client. I still use my experience as a counselor intern and the training I received at one of my internships forms the basis of how I work with people when teaching and consulting. I am not a huge believer in typecasting people which I think people are afraid will happen by going to aptitude testing. A person can be whoever they hope to be. It may take longer to do certain tasks. If someone is ok with that, including the employer, that is fine. However, people might be unhappy in their jobs and employers might be unhappy with employee performance. Furthermore, more an more, jobs requirements will be changing and knowledge within the baby boomer generation is quickly retiring. Maybe aptitude for these jobs will be even more important. I think it is more of a guide. Due to my low scores, there are no jobs that jump out in today's types of jobs as something I really enjoy. One of my mottos is "I do what I love and let go of the rest. Is that ok Mr./Mrs Employer? I hope so because there are other people out there who hope to work with me". I now utilize my Mandarin skills I learned back in college at UCLA since I have been living in China for 24 out of the past 30 months. In China, they hope to learn English so while I teach English, I hope to use my other skills, interests and experience such as teaching unique Sales techniques and perspectives as well as hoping to help western businesses in China. I try to break up my time between teaching/training (40%) consulting (40%) and running a business (20%). I am still looking for the ideal job and profession so I am taking an investigative and experimental approach to it: Do I like this? Does this fit my aptitudes? Can I make a living doing this? Am I good at this? Can I do this in a reasonable amount of time? These are questions you can ask about your current job or a job you are looking to do in the future. Aptitude testing is good for high school students looking to go to college, graduate looking to return for a MA or PhD and people making career changes. If you have questions about the testing or would like assistance after your testing to make it to the next place, contact me at http://www.webridge.org or at douglashall66@yahoo.com read more

The five stars are because having an aptitude test done for myself was supremely helpful - it helped confirm my skills in a measured, objective manner which gives me more confidence about my abilities because now I have definitions/words for what I do and importantly, I have confirmation from an outside party as well so we agree and now we have a common language by which to discuss this. Regarding the graphoria test, I wish the inventory results I received could provide an explanation of how this skill works mechanically (ie: what happens step by step in the body and mind when doing this task?) why did I really score how I scored in this area? Is it the ease of function when considering how the eye, mind and hands work together and if so how does that work? It may be helpful to see a diagram to see the steps and relevant variables. I see this concept of needing to know the mechanics of the skill can also apply to the Auditory section. This way we get away from the occupation label ad we remain more with the skill and how it works so then we could better know it and therefore, find more uses/possibilities for it. For ideaphoria, I think it's important to note that the quality/impact of ideas also depends on who else is involved / implementation. For the Inventory of Aptitudes and Knowledge handout I offer to help think about how this could be better written. Let me know if you'll compensate me to help make these more accurate and conceptual to be able to better apply a skill more liberally. read more

Interesting reading other comments relative to Johnson O'Connor coming up to the latest technology. Sometimes we come full circle and old methods are the best. This program was life changing no only for our children but I recommended them to a friend whose son was struggling through college not knowing what to study even though he was a Junior. We tested our kids in 9th and 10th grade to help them manage their high school and college experience. Totally worth every dime considering how expensive a mistake it can be to get on the wrong high school and college track. read more

My husband and I are firm believers in this testing. We have sent each of our children to take this test and have taken it ourselves. It was a real eye opener for one child especially as we were trying to steer her in one direction, but the testing showed that because of her ideaphoria she would be very frustrated in that position. Looking back we now see how great it was to have that info and to see that the path she then took has been so fulfilling for her in her career. My testing told me some things about myself that I knew very clearly, but others that really surprised me. I chose one of the paths that was unexpected and found a niche that really fit me well. My husband was not happy in his career and when he did the testing was told that was exactly what he should be doing, so he questioned them as to why he was unhappy. He was told that he would not do well in a hostile environment, which his employment at that time was. He left that company and went to another and has been very happy with the area he is in. We recommend this testing to many people as it has been so positive in our lives. read more

I'm a big firm lawyer and came to Johnson O'Connor to reevaluate my career path. I found the program to be tremendously helpful. Over the course of two days, I completed a myriad of tests ranging from word games and three dimensional block puzzles, to tonal and rhythmic testing. I'm an adult and I'm pretty in tune with who I am as a person, so I wasn't shocked to learn some of my strengths and weaknesses, but the value of Johnson O'Connor was the ability to accurately translate those aptitudes into a concise, specific summary. There were few surprises, but I had never been able to put my abilities into such a precise, simple statement. At the end of two days, Johnson O'Connor said "these are the things you excel at. These are the things you don't excel at. Given this aptitude pattern, these are the areas that best match your strengths and weaknesses. Let's talk about your interests and see how to best match your aptitudes to your interests." It was so precise and efficient. By the end of the meeting following my testing, I had 3 or 4 solid ideas of how I could transition my career to start to maximize my aptitudes and be happier in my professional life. If anything, I think Johnson O'Connor should be charging more for the service given the amount of personalized time they spend with each client. I have since mentioned the program to a dozen other lawyers in my firm and all plan on going for an evaluation. I think Johnson O'Connor provides a tremendous opportunity to learn about what you're good at, which doesn't always match up with your interests. I learned that I was in the wrong career, which was something I had felt for several years and Johnson O'Connor was able to explain exactly why it was the wrong field based on the aptitudes I exhibited. In one sense it was a little depressing to get confirmation that I had spent several years in the big firm grind when it wasn't what I should be doing, and I expressed that feeling in my post-test meeting. But immediately the Johnson O'Connor staff person responded, "Look, you've excelled in a field that didn't even match your aptitudes. Just think at how great you'll be at your career when it's something that you excel at. You're about to start the next chapter of your professional life and you'll be so much happier doing something you enjoy and excel at." It was great advice. I left the process with a clear plan of action thanks to Johnson O'Connor. Now it's up to me to carry out that plan. read more

Our son, 18 took the assessment and it was very enlightening. They spent a great deal of time with him and steered him with intelligent suggestions... Marketing rather than medicine....law rather than economics. The testing was broad from analytical skills to color/pitch discrimination, to spatial memory. It gave him a framework with which to go to college and he understands himself better as a result. read more

Friends, The low reviews posted would be amusing, if they weren't so sad. I was tested in 1968 in Chicago. The tests were both interesting and informative. Their recommendations for me were spot on and led to a thirty five year career as a home designer, where every day was a pleasure not work. As to computers, which incidentally terrifically altered my profession (not always to the good, garbage in-just garbage) they are merely a tool. and sometimes a slick printout may look good but just may be the garbage out. Please consider that these folks have a data base stretching back ninety one years. I grant that professions have come and gone within that great span of years but remember they've been there on the ground testing continually during that time with great success. Just consider the inroads in all the professions that women have made in the last thirty years. That's a whole generation plus. To not have some form of evaluation of your personality and talents puts you at a great risk of spending a large amount of time and treasure hammering a round peg in a square hole and regretting your choices in your mid 40s. In short, this testing is a bargain, not, repeat, not available anywhere else. Perhaps our young friend would be more impressed with a video game for dexterity testing, but he's missing the point that the counselor is watching not only speed but the testee's reaction to the testing. There are things that are intuitive and not testable but give the counselor a clue to the Fit of an individual to a profession; Able, yes, Should, perhaps not. In the span of a lifetime's earnings the cost of this testing is but a pittance. If you find yourself outsourced get tested. If you want cheap and flashy by all means buy that $30 CD by the 18 year old. and when you're done put it in the pile of exercise discs that you'll never use again. This testing should, perhaps, be mandatory. A life career is a journey, aptitude and interest testing is the map. They surely don't do this in public schools and they surely should. read more

I took these tests in NYC in 1986, and had my daughter take them in Atlanta in 2010. Basically, the tests help you understand yourself and your skills. Johnson O'Conner worked for GE in the 1920s and noticed that good employees were fired because they were doing jobs they weren't good at and set out to find a way to discover what each employee's talents really were. This helped me a lot because I seemed to get stuck in jobs that had too many elements that I wasn't good at. Lots of clerical errors for example, never knowing I had little to know clerical ability. I do have some very strong skills (inductive reasoning, spatial visualization, number skills) that I never knew I should pursue. Yes, some of it seems dated, but you can't measure the use of building blocks or small tools on a computer. These tests help me understand myself better. I learned that I would never be happy in a job unless I was using some of the talents I was born with. I do wish there was a partner company in career counseling or placement, that could assist in the decision making process that results from all the test results. Surprisingly, my daughter and I had very different results. read more