5. Scientific Vocational Guidance

The democratic and egalitarian nature of American society make this nation better able to steer men toward a profession in which they may be successful. There is still to some degree a prejudice that only men of a given class are fit for a given occupation, but this prejudice is waning, and there are few barriers for any man to try his hand at any vocation he may find appealing - though this merely pertains to the eradication of artificial barriers rather than practical ones. It would still be foolish to assume anyone may "jump recklessly and without preparation into any vocational stream."

The limitations of physical reality are also briefly mentioned: one can only be a farmer if there is a field to plow, or a miner if there is ore to be dug. In recent years there has been some complaint of the depletion and misuse of natural resources, though for the present the author will return to the notion of the depletion and misuse of human resources.

There's mention of an experiment performed in Boston, in which all the boys who were completing elementary school were counseled, in general and individually, about their plans for the future, and given career guidance based on their abilities and proclivities - which is said to have resulted in "remarkable success" in helping youth to consider their possible futures and prepare themselves accordingly, as suited to their talents and interests.

The methods were fairly simple: to consider the requirements of abroad range of vocations, to assess the capabilities and interests of a pupil, and to find a match between the two - with an eye toward guiding youth to direct themselves toward careers in consideration of their abilities.

This experiment stimulated a large number of American communities to follow in the same methods, giving rise to the position of vocational counselor being attached to various school systems.

It admittedly was not perfect. The counselors sensed that the tools of evaluation were too primitive - that a young child cannot be counted on to take matters seriously or to have a realistic self-assessment, and that encouraging people to where they are most capable does not guarantee that the professions they choose will be most needed. The entire affair was highly amateurish and sloppy - but seemed a step in the right direction.

(EN: There follows a rather lengthy discussion of the method, which is likely familiar to anyone who has taken a multiple-choice personality assessment quiz. Then some elaboration on the difficulty of doing an objective self-assessment, and again the problem of desire to work versus opportunity to work.)