The ACT Profile Tool: What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

by
Dr. Jennifer Smolka
Architecture & Construction
Cluster Specialist

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with several leaders at ACT© and our converstation came around to what was innovative in the academic testing giant. I learned about their relatively new interactive tool to help high school students decide career pathways based on their interests strengths, interests and values. 

One of the things that interested me in this free service is the abiltity to have a connection that includes the parents in the discussions between the schools and the students. Often these discussions happen without the parents who know the teens better than anyone. Just recently, one of my own highschoolers came home with his list of recommended careers from an inventory and I thought to myself, “How in the world did it every come up with THAT?!?!” 

The ACT Profile uses interest quizes, value-based situations, inventories and skill ratings to display a circular career map.

The dots on the maps will corresond with areas that align with the student’s responses. The map on the site is fully interactive and it allows them to really “dig” into and explore the careers based on the core areas of ideas, people, data and things with six broad career clusters of arts, social service, administration and sales, business operations, technical, and science and technology. They can get so indepth that it can help them prepare for college choices and even salary and growth options. 

This really is social tool which has integrated Facebook and twitter into the interface. But as parent I love that it has a role for me to to play in this. I have set up my own account and filled out my forms. It allowed me to send invitations to my sons and now they have began to explore the site. This has given us some really great conversations as we begin to find the right college for the high school senior and the right classes for the high school freshman. And any thing that helps parents and teens communicate about important topics is a great tool in my book!


Even as a forty-something year old, I have recently had this discussion with several friends and family members who are still struggling with making a decision about what career is best for them. Twenty plus years ago, someone may have suggested career counseling or perhaps the book, “What Color is Your Parachute?” However, in the digital age we are using more interactive tools to help our students find the right path earlier and earlier. Which in my perspective is the why CTE is so important to our highschool curriculum.