Friday’s are always good for reading and research I think. You don’t want to be getting yourself in too deep so close to the weekend now do you?

With that in mind I’ve prepared a list of articles and quizzes to kick start your career change research.

• What’s Your True Talent? Try this on-line quiz from Tickle that tests your talents in five categories, Abstract Reasoning, Mechanical, Numerical, Spatial, or Verbal ability, and challenges you to answer a blend of logical and metaphorical questions. While free to take an email address is required to view the test’s summary results. A more in depth analysis of your test score is also available for a small cost.
• On Cruise Control is an inspirational and insightful article at Jugglezine offering strategies to avoid, or get out of, life ruts. It’s not an article that focuses on changing careers as such, but certainly some of the suggestions for getting out of life ruts make food for thought for those looking to change careers.
• Groper is on-line career assessment tool developed by Australian company Groper International and assesses your level of interest in over 170 occupations to determine the career, and area of study, that best suits you. The test costs AUD$29.95 and takes about 30 minutes to complete, after which results are emailed to you. Take a tour to learn more.
• Starting your own business is a sure fire of making a career change and doing the sort of work you enjoy. If only there were a way to overcome the anxiety and uncertainty that taking such a big step invokes. Yet “fear is not the problem… the problem is how we respond to our fear,” writes Life and Business Coach Linda Anderson in Overcoming fear of running your own business, an article that shows us how to come to allay the fears that may be holding us back.
• I very much doubt that any career, no much how we may love it, is completely free of stress. Reducing stress requires a scientific approach and the boffins at New Scientist have obliqued with an article that suggests Six steps to a stress-free career. Maybe this would make better reading on a Monday!