The Early Years: Vocational Guidance Counselorrrrrr …

No, not this:

This:

What is the Ohio Vocational Interest Survey, you ask?  Good question.  My wife the teacher has never heard of it, although ERIC has.  Let’s turn the page and look inside!

Hmm, it appears that, in 1982, based on my answers to the survey questions (whatever those were), I was found to be interested in virtually no vocations other than “Entertainment” and “Literary”.  Given that I once told my parents that “work is inconvenient” (what, are you going to tell me it’s not?), this is perhaps not a surprising result.  And look, there at the very bottom, we have “Training” (it’s a well-known fact that I am a terrible trainer), “Agriculture” (about the only thing I’m interested in growing are cactus), and “Artistic” (it’s another well-known fact that Jim Can’t Draw).  So that’s a good place for those things.

Still, despite its being inconvenient, most of us have to do something to earn a living, right?  So let’s move on to the next page and see what my top choices might have been …

There, see?  I did have occupational plans, at the ripe old age of thirteen!  “Applied Technology” and “Literary”.  And what do I do now?

Oh, wait, that’s that Tyrion Lannister does.  What I do is write computer programs and novels.  So, “Applied Technology” and “Literary”?  Occupational plans achieved, I guess.  But what are the other occupational interests they had listed 35(!) years ago?  Let’s turn the page one more time.

Hmm.  Some of those are interesting.  Is “firefighter” really job that involves “unskilled use of tools and routine work done by hand”?  I’m not sure I’d characterize going into burning buildings as “routine” …

Is “fashion model” really a “Personal Services” job?

Is being a judge really a “Promotion and Communication” job?

 

Well, okay, sure, maybe if you’re that kind of judge …

I have no idea if this survey is still used or if it’s been kept updated, but I can imagine it would have some new options on it now.  YouTube star?  Blogger?  Twitter personality?  Eh, I suppose all that stuff would get crammed in under “Promotion and Communication”, which would probably, these days, need its own dedicated page to list everything in that category …