Reflection On The FOCUS 2 Assessment

The FOCUS 2 assessment revealed somewhat surprising details about myself. According to the assessment, the careers that I was “recommended” to pursue were practical and systematic careers in fields such as business, finance, and marketing. However, I plan to enter the field of music education, a field that does not fall into the career categories of “practical” or “systematic”. My goal is to be a high school band director for a time period, then to teach at the collegiate level after completing more degrees. I trust God to show me the paths I should take toward my eventual career.
When asked to choose skills, I selected performing arts, problem solving, and speaking, all of which I would use in a career as a music educator. I also selected creativity, independence and prestige as the most important values to me. Again, these values are all applicable in a career in music education.

While career assessments can be valuable in guiding a person in what type of occupation to eventually pursue, the results are not definitive and should not be taken completely to heart.

One assessment cannot accurately gauge what a person should do for the remainder of his or her life. The suggested occupations from the FOCUS 2 assessment for me are not occupations in which I have a true interest. Even though I possess the skills that would help me have a successful career in that type of field, I feel like I would be bored and unhappy in such a career. The results of my career assessment proved interesting, but did not change the degree I plan to complete at Liberty

University.