How this works

The research

The backbone is Holland's RIASEC model, the same model behind the O*NET® Interest Profiler from the US Department of Labor. The six shapes map one to one onto its six types:

• Maker: Realistic
• Figure-outer: Investigative
• Creator: Artistic
• Helper: Social
• Persuader: Enterprising
• Organizer: Conventional

Adapted, not the original

Our 18 interest items are shortened from and rewritten after the O*NET® Interest Profiler. It uses the same six types and the same five-step idea, with 3 activities per type in random order, each scored 0–4 and summed per type.

This is a shorter, adapted tool, so published O*NET® reliability and validity figures don't carry over, and our scores can't be compared with O*NET® scores. A shorter list is also a rougher measure. We haven't finished validating it for ages 11 to 16. Treat results as a starting point for a family conversation.

How a result is made

The kid reports interest. The parent reports behavior they have seen. We compare the two profiles rather than averaging them, because averaging would hide the disagreement. When they agree, that's conviction. When they don't, we show both and say so.

If your kid has never tried something and scored low on it, we mark that shape unmeasured rather than low. If they've never tried it but want to, we call it an untested interest and test it first. If neither of you shows a clear pull, we say that and don't force a result. Scoring is fixed rules with no AI, and each result records the scoring version.

How majors are matched

We sorted a short list of majors under each shape ourselves, based on the kind of work each one involves. That sorting is our judgment. It hasn't been tested, and it doesn't predict success in a major. Campus and major names come from each campus's published lists, checked November 1, 2026. Not every campus offers every major, and some lists may be incomplete.

Guide My Kid is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the University of California.

What it can't do

• It cannot predict income, pick a college, predict admission, or tell you who your kid is.
• Self-report at 11–16 is moderate, not strong. That is why there are two views and a year.
• Aptitude is mostly unmeasurable before the mid-teens except at the extremes. The tool measures interest and observed behavior and says so.
• Interests shift. A different profile next year is normal.
• A Low confidence result is information, not failure.
• It is not a diagnostic instrument and does not screen for learning differences, mental health, or anything clinical.

AI and the future

Draft. Sources are still being added to this section.

• Nobody knows which specific jobs exist in 2040. Anyone who claims to is guessing. That includes us.
• What's visible now: work that is mostly routine information handling (reading, summarizing, drafting, basic analysis, standard code) is the most exposed, and that is true whether it is done by a programmer, an accountant, or a paralegal. Work built on physical skill, personal trust, judgment under uncertainty, and getting other people to act is holding up.
• This cuts across all six shapes. A Figure-outer who only does routine analysis is exposed; one who frames the question is not. A Helper in a care role is in one of the least exposed fields in the economy. A Maker who works with physical things is largely untouched. A Persuader's whole job is the part machines are worst at.
• The disposition that matters most, across every shape, is being the kind of person who starts and finishes things without being told. That is what the experiments are watching for. It is also the thing a parent can actually influence.
• So the parent's job is not to pick the safe field. It is to raise a kid who does things, in the arena where they will do the hard, voluntary work. Your result is about which arena that is.

Your family's data

We have no accounts for kids and collect no child email. Normally your result lives in its link, so anyone with the link can read it. If your child finishes later, we keep their first name, age, your scores and picks, and the result on our server, deleted after 90 days. Your child's individual answers are never stored. If you give us your email, we use it to send your link.

Modifications and disclaimers

Matthew Highland has modified all of, a portion of, or the purpose of the O*NET® Career Exploration Tools. The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. As such, USDOL/ETA will not be liable to any third party or end-user for any damages arising out of or from the use or misuse of the modified O*NET Career Exploration Tools or any products incorporating or containing the modified O*NET Career Exploration Tools.

What we changed:

• The 18 interest items are based on the O*NET® Interest Profiler but shortened and rewritten for ages 11 to 16. They are not the original items, and there are 3 per type, not 5.
• The answer scale keeps five steps scored 0 to 4, but uses our own words and face pictures.
• The six RIASEC types are shown under our own names, such as Maker and Helper.
• Interest items are combined with a parent's report of observed behavior and a check of what the child has tried. Those parts are ours and are not O*NET® content.
• The results, confidence levels, experiments and advice are ours. They do not come from the O*NET® Career Exploration Tools.
• Questions appear with our own design, lines, pictures and animations. These are shown around the items and are not part of them.
• The purpose is a guided year for a family with a child aged 11 to 16.