Aims Aptitude Testing

I’m so glad to find out that AIMS is still around. I took the test my junior year of high school as I prepared to go to college, in the mid 90s.
Now 20 years later, I stumbled upon the print out, and right there on the list of possible career choices is exactly what I am doing now. At the time, the results gave me direction on what to explore.
We are now looking into AIMS for our own child.

AIMS may be one of the best kept secrets I’ve ever heard of.
When I was a child, my father was a production line manager for a major fortune 1000 company’s manufacturing plant in San Antonio. When employees were unhappy at work or were struggling, the company would send them to AIMS. When they came back, they were much more productive and happier. When seeing the results, my Dad asked to take the test.
After he did the test, he was so pleased with the results that he had our entire family take the AIMS test – myself, my mother, and my sister.
When my Dad and Mom took the test, I was probably about 10 years old. My sister was about 11 or 12. Your aptitudes are still developing before about age 16, so taking the test became almost a right of passage in my family.
My sister went, and then when I was 16, my parents took me to take the test. At that point, we lived in Indiana, so we drove all the way from Indiana so that I could take the test.
As I write this review, I’m 29. I can say wholeheartedly and from experience that the tests have served me very, very well, and have made me make some of the best decisions in my career. Generally, the best things I’ve done were either predicted or suggested by the report gave to me, and some of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made were when I ignored that report. The report has also prevented me from making some huge, life-​changing mistakes.
So, you’re wondering – what IS it? The idea behind aptitude testing is that everyone has a specific set of aptitudes. Many, many folks have taken the test over many years, and they’ve found that people with certain aptitude patterns are happier doing specific things that use those aptitudes (and if they have an aptitude they’re not using, and they find an outlet for it, they become happier as well.)
So, how does AIMS do it? I probably won’t do it justice here, but remembering back, basically you go through a couple days of testing. They test every aptitude that you have that they’ve found relevant to measure. No, this isn’t a test that you study for, as aptitudes aren’t learned or changed once they’re set – they stay the same. They’ll test things like your memory, your abstract and structural visualization, you dexterity, your writing speed, you reading speed, and even your creativity.
They’ll also test your interests, but if you’re my age, you probably did a similar assessment in High School anyhow. Interests change, aptitudes don’t. Once you’re done, they’ll give you a detailed report showing you what your aptitudes are, what they’re not, and a long document that tells you some very interesting things about yourself – some you may realize and some you may not.
My report tells me what outstanding aptitudes I have, what aptitude pattern my aptitudes follow, what characteristics are essential for me in a job, what recommended occupations go along with those, what college majors were recommended for me, what colleges were recommended for me, and general tips regarding what aptitudes I have and which ones I don’t, and how to be more productive. This report, in a way, is kind of an instruction manual for your brain.
The report is so helpful, that I scanned a copy and carry it around on my iPad, especially when I’m considering taking a new job. If you have a question about a job or how to interpret your report, you can always call if you have a question (heck – I still do, over a decade later).
The test is long and pretty pricey, but WELL worth it. I’m pretty sure AIMS is a non-​profit, and I don’t think they’re making a big profit on what they’re doing.
Anyhow, I’d highly recommend them. Their report continues to be super helpful, 15 years later. Go and do the test – you won’t regret it.