About the Klimov test: what is its purpose and how does it work?

The Career Guidance Test by E.A. Klimov is the most well-known and straightforward test for choosing a profession, developed by Professor Yevgeny Alexandrovich Klimov, a labor psychologist (Moscow State University, Faculty of Psychology).

This test clearly classifies the subject area of professions. Choosing the right subject area of work is the most important aspect of selecting a profession because every professional deals with a specific subject area.

E.A. Klimov identified five such subject areas: nature, human, technology, symbolic system, and artistic image. In this test, E.A. Klimov focuses not on a person's abilities but on their desires to work with a particular subject.

If you choose something in this test, it's primarily because you consciously or almost consciously prefer it.

When your result is "human-human," it means the object of your work is a person (one or several).

If you get "human-nature," it means the object of your work is nature (the human body, animals, plants, living tissues, molecules and atoms, earth and its depths, rivers, oceans, and space).

If your result is "human-artistic image," it means your work involves either images (drawings, film, photography, and everything visual), artistic texts, or music and sounds.

If you achieve "human-technology," it means that technology is not just an instrument but the actual object of your work. This likely indicates that you are an engineer or equipment technician.

If you end up with "human-symbolic system," it means you choose to work with numbers, tables, diagrams, letters, and codes.

This is already a lot to consider. It's a step forward. However, complexity arises in combinations. For instance, if you choose both human and artistic image, what kind of professions are associated with that? Or if you select technology and nature, what professions correspond to that?

The Klimov test does not provide an answer to this question.

Aside from the subject matter, several other factors play a significant role in choosing a profession: your values, the nature of your intelligence, your physical and personal qualities.

You can discover these qualities with the help of other career choice tests:

• Holland's Test
• Test for Choosing a Profession Based on School Subjects
• Test for Choosing a Profession Based on Work Objects
• Intelligence Tests
• Specialized tests, such as "Can You Become a Doctor?"
• ProfGuide Career Guidance Test

Good luck to you!