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Personality type? (I want to know if I'm a "developer")

Please dont fall for the fake personality tests. And by fake I mean ALL personality tests. Only you know what you like not some test.

We had to take these things in high school and I was told that I would make a great economist and thats where my interests lie.

That could not be farther from the truth.
 
I've got to agree with Chrono. People don't just exhibit one type of personality. That would be boring. Not to mention there are a limited number of types available, whereas people fall all over the spectrum. A recent test told me to be a counselor. I intend to be an engineer. So yeah, fun to play with, but don't take it seriously.
 
Not true... the tests are a "rough guideline" to what you are like, and so are not totally worthless. My answers come up fairly consistently a few years apart.

I wouldn't recommend doing it for anyone younger than maybe 21/22, so they are a bit late for career guidance anyway! People are changing a lot before 24/25... so maybe that is why your teenage test fails.
 
eclipse said:
Not true... the tests are a "rough guideline" to what you are like, and so are not totally worthless. My answers come up fairly consistently a few years apart.

I wouldn't recommend doing it for anyone younger than maybe 21/22, so they are a bit late for career guidance anyway! People are changing a lot before 24/25... so maybe that is why your teenage test fails.
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Well, it got me right in one respect; I'm a dreamer, as in I like to sleep. :D
 
you know, its funny... once upon a time I think there was a certain personality type that was drawn to computer programming... we still feel those stereotypes every day...

however, I have found that, particularly with the groups of students I work with (20s - early 30s), its quite different. Programming is another type of literacy to them.

I teach at an art school. One of the subjects I teach is programming. Us "non-logical/non-linear, visually-centered, creative thinker" types are no less adept at learning programming than other groups I have found... In fact, when you combine this type of creative/conceptual thinking with the ability to experiment and make computationally, really interesting things start to happen.
 
Wait, what happens if it says I'm not a developer? Do I throw away the last 7 years of my life. Dammit, I knew I should have been an astronaut.

Seriously, I don't put much faith into these test. People are constantly surprised that I work in computers, as they attach a certain stereotype to developers. (small, anemic, pasty, glass wearing buck toothed etc etc) But in this modern age, I think people are finally letting go of it, and we can move on.

These surveys are completely pre determined, since they expect a certain answer to apply to all people accross the board to give their evaluation, which clearly doesn't hold true to all cases.

While I have no problem with schools giving these tests to children in an effort to help them understand where they might go in the future, it should be by no means a final judjement.
 
Please dont fall for the fake personality tests. And by fake I mean ALL personality tests. Only you know what you like not some test.

We had to take these things in high school and I was told that I would make a great economist and thats where my interests lie.

That could not be farther from the truth.
Click to expand...

I completely agree, they are a waste of time :p. So far the votes look strongly against these fake tests.:)
 
eclipse said:
Not true... the tests are a "rough guideline" to what you are like, and so are not totally worthless
Click to expand...

Actually, alot of HR departments use tests like these, sorry I mean "evaluations" like these, when hiring people to weed out those who fall outside so called societal norms. It is effective in that sense, which is why companies invest alot of money on social research like this in the evaluation of employees. It's intended to save the company lawsuits, plus training and developing employees is a huge investment in time and resources as well as money.

What I don't like about it is when a result turns into something like your FICO score, or an SAT score - it doesn't tell you as much about an individual as would be learned in a personal interview. So an evaluation like this is nothing more than a scoring system pitting your responses next to a median average curve representing the rest of us. That is the unfair aspect of it, much less the issue of inaccuracy. I have no problem using it as a tool to assist in an overall evaluation, but it gets scary when a resume' gets tossed on the results of that evaluation alone, simply because HR needs to automate the process due to high unemployment right now and lots of job seekers.

-jim
 
Well, as someone with a degree in Psychology I can say there's some merit to those tests (the real ones anyways). I didn't click on the links, so I can't speak to the quality of those. Part of the trouble with them is that they depend on the test taker to answer them honestly. The outcomes are based on how you answer so the outcome should generally have a natural feel to it. The harder part is properly interpreting the results, which are often left to the test taker to do and doesn't always work out. Still, the results are not definitive and don't determine your future, but can provide some additional insight to yourself and help you plan your future.

I'm a ENFP for what it's worth (from when I last took the test 4 years ago) and it has been very accurate for me.
 
I wrote a really long answer, but let me see if I can sum it up.

I qualified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator a number of years ago. (Four days in a dark walled room with no windows...but I digress.)

MBTI is an indicator, not a test. A test implies there is a right and wrong answer. The reason these things work is that people with similar personality types tend to like similar things. Pre-school teachers skew heavily to ISFJ (20%). Does that mean you have to be ISFJ to be a pre-school teacher? Absolutely not. The indicator might lead you in a direction or show you what you might dislike in a job, but should not be the only factor taken into consideration. Do these personality indicators work? Yes. Should it be the sole reason to not pursue a career? No!

The full indicator (93 questions for Form M) is going to be far more accurate then the 20 question Facebook quiz. If you are going to use MBTI, Real Colors, DiSC or any of the others, take the full class where someone can lead you through the whole result. As I go through the MBTI class we do activities that illustrate the differences between the types. I always have at least one person who moves from one type to another because it is a better fit then what they came out on the indicator, especially if the indicator was not strong.


Actually, alot of HR departments use tests like these, sorry I mean "evaluations" like these, when hiring people to weed out those who fall outside so called societal norms. It is effective in that sense, which is why companies invest alot of money on social research like this in the evaluation of employees. It's intended to save the company lawsuits, plus training and developing employees is a huge investment in time and resources as well as money.
Click to expand...
In most cases, it is illegal to screen people for jobs based on type. These indicators do not diagnose mental illness or deviant behavior. But, in the right hands, might predict how you will work with a team of people (especially if their types are known).
 
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