Awesome!! Tickle: What's Your True Talent? What Are You Really Good At? Here

Not that anyone cares hah ha haaaaaaaaaaa but here's my results.

Tickle has examined your scores in five sectors of career talent to arrive at your personalized aptitude profile. Based on your test results, your greatest strengths are:


1. SPATIAL ABILITY
2. MECHANICAL ABILITY
3. ABSTRACT REASONING
4. VERBAL ABILITY
5: NUMERICAL ABILITY

Your primary talent
Tara, your primary career talent is Spatial Ability.

The ability to visualize objects in three-dimensional space can give you an unusual view of the world. You appear to understand how figures can be manipulated and take on new forms. Because of this talent, you can probably imagine new designs easily, including anything from floor plans to page layouts — and even 3D product prototypes. People like you are usually aces when it comes to putting together assemble-it-yourself furniture or other household items — whether the items arrive with instructions or not.

Your rare talent can make you less likely than most people to be content with the same old thing. As a result, in your work life you might enjoy focusing on visual innovation and proposing new ideas. Your ability to conceptualize objects in their completed form can make you a natural designer or engineer. Your spatial skills can also help you understand the finer points of how things work. Typically, new computer programs or specialized office equipment are no sweat to you. In a world where technology changes so rapidly, you may also find yourself rewarded for your ability to adapt.

Your secondary talent
Your secondary career talent is Mechanical Ability.

Given this talent, you're most likely curious about how things work and may enjoy tinkering with machines. Have you ever taken something apart just to see how it would fit back together? If this sounds like you, you may have earned the reputation around your household as a real Mr. or Ms. Fix-It. At times, people like you can be both self-sufficient and a great help to others because when it's time to change a car's oil or tighten a leaky faucet, you can be just the right person to get the job done.

Having high mechanical abilities can also mean that you possess an almost intuitive understanding of physics and spatial reasoning. This can make you a great builder or give you a talent for creating useful new products. Your mechanical skills allow you plenty of career options and the chance to work in multiple settings. No matter which opportunity you choose, chances are that you'll enjoy working with your hands or seeing the tangible result of your efforts.

Now that you know the two greatest strengths of your true talent profile, you might want to know how we generated this summary of your skills.

While you were answering the test questions, we measured your skills on five distinct talents: abstract reasoning, numerical ability, verbal ability, spatial ability, and mechanical ability.

As you look at your complete talent profile, including your primary and secondary strengths, you may notice that you can receive the same score on more than one of your talents. Don't worry, that's very common. If some of your talents share the same score, it simply means you're equally good at all of those skills.

Here's how your talent profile is ranked. First we calculated your overall score for each talent. The higher the score, the higher it is ranked in your talent profile. But what happens when you receive the same score on different skills? In those cases, we looked at how difficult it is for people to get high scores on those particular talents, then ranked those talents in order of difficulty.

Aptitude 1: Spatial skills

Spatial ability refers to your level of ease in understanding the relationship between objects and physical space. Tickle's experts tested not only your ability to recognize how shapes can be manipulated but also how they would look if their appearance were altered in some way. Having an understanding of object rotation in a three-dimensional space is another aspect critical to this skill.

You scored a10 out of 10 on our measure of spatial ability. People who score high in this talent tend to do best in professions that emphasize these unique spatial skills.

Career success profile: Meet Alexis
Alexis has been working in sales for years. In her present role, she helps small businesses purchase office furniture suitable for their needs. Although Alexis does a fair job and her clients seem to like her well enough, many of Alexis' colleagues seem much more suited for their roles than she is. They could talk about sales for hours on end, while she'd prefer to think about almost anything else but work.

One day, Alexis was assigned to assist an architectural firm in choosing its furniture. She spent significant time with the architects at their workplace and even had the chance to learn about some of their projects. When Alexis asked one of the architects about some details on a particular floor plan, he noticed that even as a novice she had a good eye and some interesting ideas about the project. He complimented Alexis on her intuitive understanding of design and layouts and suggested that she should consider a career change. He told her she had a real knack for architecture.

Over the next few months, the architect's comments stayed with Alexis. Then one day she got serious about the idea of a career switch and began mulling over the pros and cons. Even though she wasn't the best salesperson, she made a decent living and enjoyed having money to spend on herself. At the same time, she fantasized about going to work every day and doing something that felt natural to her.

Eventually, Alexis decided that in the short term, she would stay in sales to build up her bank account. However, she decided that in two years, she would apply to architecture schools and make a dramatic career change. Knowing that she'd made a plan for her future made Alexis feel better about her present job and excited about the new experiences to come. She is already studying for her college entrance exams and puts money away each month for tuition.

Skill builder: Crank up the Mozart
Researchers in neuropsychology have discovered that listening to or playing classical music significantly enhances spatial reasoning skills. This increase in spatial abilities is called the Mozart Effect (Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky, 1993).

During a series of experiments, researchers found that both children and college-age students performed significantly better on spatial reasoning tasks after listening to classical music. The key appears to be that complex music, such as classical music, is useful in developing higher cognitive functions. Taking up a musical instrument like the piano seems to greatly increase the effects, as well. So not only can it be enjoyable to listen to classical music or learn an instrument, but it's good for your brain, too. For more information on how your brain functioning influences your judgments, check out Tickle's The Brain Test: What Your Brain Says About How You Think and Learn.

Aptitude 2: Mechanical ability

Mechanical ability refers to your aptitude for understanding the workings of machines and tools. A certain degree of precision and practical thinking is needed for this type of skill.

You scored a10 out of 10 on our measure of mechanical ability. People who score high on this talent do well in professions that draw on this skill.

Career success profile: Meet Nathan
Nathan was a natural at building and restoring homes. In his early twenties, he had already planned to go into construction. However, because Nathan got married very young, his need for a stable income outweighed this original plan. Consequently, Nathan went into insurance sales, which offered him both steady pay and job security. As time went on, Nathan remained somewhat satisfied with his insurance job but would still spend every weekend on home projects.

Years later, once their two children were raised, Nathan admitted to his wife, Maria, that he wished he could do something different. He also told her that he didn't feel that his original passion for construction was a possibility. He was older now and his body could no longer handle the harsh physical requirements. Maria suggested that there might be alternatives that would still allow him to build things and work with his hands. Nathan took that idea to heart, remembering that he'd been very happy restoring furniture for family and friends. Most of the time, he'd done those projects as personal favors. Still, he recalled how everyone had marveled at his abilities. With his wife's encouragement and financial savvy, Nathan decided to take a chance on starting his own custom furniture restoration business. The work was tough but not as grueling as construction. Nathan started out small, but through word of mouth, he gained a steady clientele and a rewarding second career doing something he loved.

Skill builder: Hit the books
Believe it or not, for most people the first step in gaining mechanical aptitude is to get out of the workshop and into the library. Usually what keeps people from developing their mechanical aptitude is their unfamiliarity in working with power tools. However, handling power tools is only part of the story. Understanding how things work is the real first step. Check out some of these books to help you overcome your fears or simply brush up on your skills:
Mechanical and Spatial Aptitude by Learning Express Series
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Lessons from a Master Carpenter by Norm Abrams
Mechanical Aptitude by Frank, Inc Merriwell
Building Construction Illustrated, by Frank Ching, Cassandra Adams, and Francis D.K. Ching
After getting through some of these resources, you'll not only understand the difference between a hacksaw and a ripsaw; you'll also have a better understanding of the mechanical and spatial principles used by builders and other skilled craftspeople everywhere.

Aptitude 3: Abstract reasoning

Abstract reasoning refers to your ability to think complexly and see relationships between ideas that are not easily apparent. This kind of reasoning requires making inferences from both logical and creative sources of information.

You scored a10 out of 10 on our measure of abstract reasoning. People who score high on this talent tend to do well in careers that capitalize on this kind of analytical and creative thinking style.

Regardless of your score on this particular talent, making a career change based on your strengths can be incredibly liberating. Read on to see how one person made a change for the better based on her aptitude for abstract reasoning.

Career success profile: Meet Cynthia
Cynthia worked for a major real estate company in New York City. One of her roles within the company was to project future earnings based on fluctuations in the market. In the beginning, Cynthia loved this part of her job. She kept close track of many industry information sources and formed ongoing recommendations concerning steps her company should take to ensure long-term success. Unfortunately, over time Cynthia found that many of her ideas fell on deaf ears. It seemed that the majority of people Cynthia worked with preferred to follow established procedures rather than considering new strategies. She didn't know whether they were jealous of her initiative, lazy about enacting fresh ideas, or simply not very creative or broad in their thinking.

Whatever their reasons were, this negative trend eventually resulted in Cynthia becoming frustrated with her job. She was fed up with not being respected for her ideas — especially because when her plans were enacted, they often turned out to be successful. Eventually she decided to leave her position to seek employment with more like-minded individuals. Today, even though Cynthia is earning less at a smaller firm, she is much more content because people respect the quality of her thinking and what she has to say.

Skill builder: Improve the quality of your thinking
Because, by nature, people are always thinking and forming judgments, many of us take for granted that all of our thinking is of good quality. Consider it yourself: When was the last time you took a moment to sit back and analyze the validity of a particular idea or opinion you had? If you're like most people, it probably wasn't very recently.

Unfortunately, individuals typically rely on stereotypes or other mental shortcuts to make quick judgments. As a result, accuracy is often traded for speed. If you look back on times in your own life when you've found yourself in hot water, you may indeed find that many of them were due to mistakes in your judgment or reasoning.

You can improve your reasoning skills by varying the methods you use to make judgments from now on. For instance, when a decision you have to make isn't very important, such as, "Should I have the decaf latte or the double espresso?" go ahead and rely on your quick wits. However, when the decision is a more crucial one, such as, "What do I think of this job candidate?" consider slowing down to question what is making up the basis for your judgment.

You may find that your thought process isn't as rational as you would like to believe. For instance, have you ever formed a negative impression of someone just because they resembled a person you didn't like? Poor generalizations like this one make it all the more important that you allow yourself extra time to honestly assess your initial conclusions. In each new situation, ask yourself if you've made any generalizations without sufficient proof. Also determine whether you've dismissed certain viewpoints because they didn't jibe with your own. By taking steps like these to enhance your critical analysis, you can discover the power of abstract thinking in your daily life.

Aptitude 4: Verbal ability

Verbal aptitude refers not only to your range of vocabulary but also your ability to comprehend the relationship between different words. This particular test also examined your ability to correctly identify the meanings of popular proverbs or sayings. Our researchers utilized this technique to gauge your skill forming inferences and understanding the precise meanings of metaphorical statements.

You scored an8 out of 10 on our measure of verbal ability. People who score well on this talent tend to be good at work that requires interpreting or communicating ideas.

Career success profile: Meet Kevin
Kevin struggled through high school and was barely able to make it through his days. However, Kevin's problems with school weren't because he wasn't intelligent. On the contrary, Kevin was an extremely bright young man who found school too slow and dull to mentally stimulate him. Kevin had a hard time sitting through his classes and was constantly in trouble for entertaining his classmates during lessons. His senior classmates even voted him Class Clown.

After graduation, Kevin did a series of odd jobs and eventually landed a job as an usher for the local repertory theater. After Kevin's very first day of ushering, he was awestruck. Nothing had ever inspired him as much as seeing people perform on stage. He was fascinated by the craft of developing a character and loved the way actors could bring words on a page to life.

Although Kevin wasn't always one to follow through on things, he became determined to keep his ushering job, so he could spend his nights watching classic plays by everyone from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde. He could also learn by watching the professionals. Kevin enrolled himself in daytime acting classes at the nearby community college. There he could learn how actors interpreted scripts and improve his own techniques. Kevin's natural ability to entertain people, along with his newfound love for the theater, made his chances of succeeding very strong, even in the difficult world of acting. In the meantime, he was enjoying every day of his work life.

Skill builder: Relearning language
It is a strange but true fact that most people have a hard time understanding the structure of words in their native language. This difficulty primarily exists because people pick up language as children by imitating others. It's typically only when people learn a foreign language later in life that they formally examine the roots and structures of words. Consequently, people are often better able to guess correctly the meaning of unfamiliar foreign words than words in their native tongue.

Improving your language skills means approaching language from the bottom up. Many English words have their roots in Latin. If you encounter an unfamiliar English word, chances are if you understood Latin, you'd be able to acquire its meaning. So while it may seem strange, one of the most effective ways to learn English is to learn Latin. Not ready to dive into ancient languages? That's understandable. If this kind of in-depth study is beyond your ambitions right now, then one quick and effective way to improve your skills is to learn about common prefixes and suffixes. Here are a few to get you started:

Prefix or
Suffix Meaning Example

A-, An- Without Atypical
Dys- Hard, difficult Dysfunctional
-logy Study of Psychology
Photo- Light Photocopy
Tele- Far Telephone
Sub- Under Subterranean

Aptitude 5: Numerical ability

Numerical ability refers to your skill performing both basic and advanced mathematical calculations correctly. In addition, Tickle's test assessed your recognition of numerical patterns and ability to understand numbers in specific situational contexts.

You scored an8 out of 10 on our measure of numerical ability. People who score high on this talent tend to do well in work that emphasizes calculating numbers.

Career success profile: Meet Jessie
With college graduation looming ahead, Jessie was at a loss for what to do. She had always planned on pursuing a career in medicine like her father but didn't do well in advanced biology or in her organic chemistry classes. When it was time to apply to medical schools, Jessie sent in her applications anyway but was disappointed months later to have received no acceptances.

Jessie's family worried about her future and hounded her about what career she was planning to pursue. Jessie thought carefully about her educational experiences and realized that math was something that always came easily to her. She didn't struggle through calculus or advanced geometry like her other friends did. In fact, she enjoyed thinking about mathematical concepts.

Jessie wasn't aware of many careers that utilized math, so she spent time chatting with her parents' friends about their professions. Then one day Jessie was lucky enough to spend a whole day with her mother's friend Sandra who was a stockbroker. During their time together, Jessie discovered how much she enjoyed the idea of using her computational skills to understand probabilities and make financial decisions. Jessie decided that she wanted to become a stockbroker, too. Even though life had thrown her a curveball, Jessie became excited about the endless opportunities this new career offered her. She even sent Sandra a copy of her resume to see if any entry-level positions were available with her firm.

Skill builder: Tackling an applied math problem
Most of the time, people aren't as interested in doing math for its own sake as they are in applying mathematical skills in their daily lives. Think about all those word problems you probably endured throughout your schooling. "If two trains are leaving the station at the same time and one is going 60 mph...." Remember those?

Word problems in mathematics were designed to teach you applied problem solving. Maybe you weren't interested in figuring out how fast the train actually traveled from point A to point B, but if you were listening, chances are it helped you learn to use math in a variety of everyday settings. In case you're a little rusty, here are four tips to help you solve applied math problems (Polya, 1945).
What information is given to you?
The first step is to figure out what is being asked mathematically. This is usually the most difficult part, and it can help if you draw pictures and label all the quantitative information given to you.

What is being asked?
What exactly are you being asked to solve? For example, are you calculating the rate or the distance?

What would be the right equation to use?
Luckily, you aren't being asked to create solutions from scratch. There are simple equations to use for most types of applied problems. Once you find the correct one, it's just a matter of plug and chug.

Test yourself
Lastly, you should be able to convert the answer of your applied problem back into your own words so that the solution makes logical sense. If it doesn't seem logical, you'll know to go back and see where your calculations or formula may be off.

Now that you know how you rate on the five main areas of career talent, let's look at where you stand on a skill that can help you in any job you choose: organization. Tickle's test assessed both your clerical and administrative skills. It specifically focused on your abilities to be precise with details, proofread carefully, and arrange information effectively.

You scored an8 out of 10 on Tickle's organizational abilities scale.

Let's face it: organization comes more easily to some people than it does for others. Although everyone may eventually be able to perform organizational tasks well, few people can accomplish these skills consistently, quickly, and accurately.

Given your high score, it appears that you've got the right stuff when it comes to being methodical. In fact, you're probably on top of things big and small. While other people might spend their time shuffling through piles of disordered personal papers or searching to find their house keys (again), you've got these details wrapped up. People like you have developed careful systems that allow you to manage appointments, keep track of your belongings and projects, and bring ease to your daily tasks. In the work world, this skill can make you a model for efficiency — and chances are, it already does.

Skill builder: The myth of multitasking
Cognitive psychologists will tell you that humans can skillfully process only so much information at one time. If people have too much mental stimulation, they experience what is called cognitive overload. When dealing with overload, people typically rely on superficial information in order to make decisions with little mental effort. But cluttered minds often produce cluttered thinking. Even though multitasking has become a favorite buzz phrase of workplaces everywhere, it's likely that you're most effective when concentrating on one thing at a time. Here are some ways to help you finish your projects not only quickly, but also well:
Don't juggle
You might be tempted to talk on the phone while you balance your checkbook and read your email, but you should try to avoid doing it. Instead, do one task at a time. You may actually find that by handling each thing separately, you get them all done more quickly.

Create a daily schedule of long-term and short-term goals
Rather than rushing headlong into your day, take a few minutes in the morning — or even the night before — to make a daily plan for yourself that includes what you need to accomplish and the approximate time needed for each task. Make sure that your schedule includes at least one hour that is set aside to complete your long-term tasks uninterrupted. That way you can avoid juggling.

Stay focused in the present
Thinking about what you have to finish in an hour doesn't help you complete what you need to do right now. If you stick to your daily schedule as much as you can, work will get accomplished naturally. However, if you get off track, don't spend your time worrying about it. Otherwise you'll accomplish even less.

After examining your different aptitudes, Tickle came up with a list of potential careers for you based on your career talent scores. Given that your highest aptitude is Spatial Ability, we've come up with a list of jobs requiring that particular talent. We've also highlighted a few careers within the list, indicating that those careers require high organizational skills. Of course, all careers require organization. But in some professions, it's especially critical that you be a super-organized type of person.

requiring high organization


Architect Electrical engineer

Artist Ergonomist

Cartographer Fashion designer

Civil engineer Graphic designer

Design engineer Illustrator

Display artist Interior decorator

Draftsman Make-up artist

Editor Navigating officer

Electrical engineer Optician

Ergonomist Publisher



Although these jobs may look different from one another at first glance, the thing they have in common is that all of them require the particular career talent you possess.

Although the list above doesn't include all of the careers that require spatial ability, you can begin to recognize positions that need this talent on your own. Jobs that focus strongly on spatial ability typically require:
Visualization of hypothetical objects
A correct understanding of proportions and shapes
Manipulation or alteration of existing objects
Understanding precise technical drawings or measurements
Excellent visual abilities
Manual dexterity