Summer Is the Perfect Time to Explore Careers: Free Career Assessments and Transition Tools for Teens and Adults with Disabilities

When school is in session, life can feel busy with homework, therapies, extracurricular activities, and IEP meetings. Summer often provides something families don’t always have during the school year. That makes summer an excellent opportunity to begin exploring one of the most exciting parts of transition planning: discovering future career possibilities. Career exploration isn’t about deciding what someone will do for the rest of their life. It’s about discovering interests, identifying strengths, and finding environments where an individual can thrive. Whether your loved one is preparing for a transition-focused IEP, graduating from high school, entering adulthood, or simply looking for more meaningful work, exploring career interests now can help shape future opportunities.

Why Career Exploration Matters

Every person has unique talents, interests, and ways of learning.

Finding the right job starts with understanding questions like:

• What activities do I genuinely enjoy?
• What environments help me feel successful?
• Do I enjoy working with people, animals, technology, or my hands?
• What tasks give me energy?
• What kinds of support help me do my best work?

Career exploration focuses on possibilities rather than limitations.

Instead of asking, “What jobs can someone with this diagnosis do?” ask, “What type of work fits this person’s strengths, interests, and support needs?”

That shift in perspective often leads to more meaningful employment opportunities.

Who Can Benefit?

Career exploration isn’t just for high school seniors.

This resource is helpful for:

• Middle and high school students beginning transition planning
• Students preparing for transition-focused IEP meetings
• Young adults exploring life after graduation
• Adults looking for employment for the first time
• Individuals seeking a more meaningful job or volunteer opportunity
• Families supporting long-term employment goals

No matter where someone is on their journey, it’s never too early—or too late—to begin exploring possibilities.

Start with Free Career Assessments

Career assessments provide a structured way to identify interests and discover careers that may be a good fit.

TuCareers Disability Career Test

Website: https://tucareers.com

TuCareers offers a free, research-based career assessment specifically designed for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Unlike many traditional career assessments, it uses visual supports and simplified questions to explore:

• Personal interests
• Learning preferences
• Communication styles
• Cognitive strengths
• Comfortable work environments

After completing the assessment, families receive a personalized report highlighting strengths, suggested careers, and workplace environments that may be a good fit.

Tip: Complete the assessment together. Read questions aloud if needed, and focus on what feels enjoyable, not what seems most realistic.

Jobtimize Career Assessment

Website: https://hireautism.org

Available through Hire Autism, Jobtimize is a free career assessment designed with autistic individuals in mind.

It considers:

• Interests
• Personality
• Values
• Education
• Previous experience

The personalized Career Planning Report helps identify careers that align with the individual’s unique strengths and preferences.

My Next Move Interest Profiler

Website: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

This free assessment from the U.S. Department of Labor asks simple questions about activities and interests before organizing results into career categories such as:

• Realistic
• Investigative
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional

Families can then explore careers, job duties, education requirements, salary information, and employment outlook.

Look Beyond Job Titles

One helpful strategy is focusing less on job titles and more on environments and tasks.

Someone who enjoys animals may enjoy:

• Animal shelters
• Veterinary offices
• Pet stores
• Dog daycare facilities

Someone who enjoys routines may thrive in:

• Libraries
• Office settings
• Grocery stores
• Inventory management

Someone who enjoys helping others might enjoy:

• Recreation programs
• Childcare settings
• Senior centers
• Hospitals
• Community organizations

Thinking this way opens many more possibilities than searching for a single “perfect” job.

Create a Career Vision Board

Career exploration can be visual and fun. Create a vision board using magazine pictures, Canva, or online images that represent:

• Jobs that seem interesting
• Workplaces that feel comfortable
• Hobbies that could become careers
• Words describing how someone wants to feel at work (helpful, creative, calm, active, social)

This activity often sparks conversations that traditional assessments can miss.

Explore Careers in Real Life

Summer is also a wonderful time to gain hands-on experience.

Ideas include:

• Job shadowing
• Volunteering
• Touring local businesses
• Visiting community colleges
• Attending career fairs
• Talking with people working in interesting careers
• Participating in short-term work experiences

Sometimes, trying a job for just a few hours provides more insight than any assessment ever could.

Use Transition Planning to Build Momentum

If your loved one is still in school, career exploration can directly support transition planning.

Consider bringing assessment results to:

• IEP meetings
• Transition planning meetings
• Vocational Rehabilitation appointments
• Job coaching sessions
• Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

These tools can help create meaningful employment goals based on the individual’s interests rather than assumptions.

Let Artificial Intelligence Help Brainstorm Possibilities

Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT can also help families think creatively about career possibilities.

Once you’ve completed a career assessment, try prompts like:

• “My daughter enjoys animals, prefers quiet environments, and benefits from routine. What careers might be a good fit?”
• “My son loves motorcycles, enjoys helping others, and learns best with visual supports. Can you suggest practical jobs that match his interests?”
• “Can you create a list of careers for someone who enjoys organizing, likes predictable routines, and prefers working indoors?”

The more specific you are about strengths, interests, support needs, and preferred environments, the more personalized the ideas can become.

Remember that AI-generated suggestions should be viewed as brainstorming tools—not career recommendations. Use them to spark conversations and explore possibilities alongside your loved one and their support team.

The Goal Isn’t Finding the Perfect Job

Career exploration isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about discovering strengths, building confidence, trying new experiences, and expanding possibilities. The right career path often develops over time through exploration, experience, and support.

This summer, take advantage of the extra flexibility to ask questions, explore interests, and imagine what adulthood could look like. Every conversation, assessment, volunteer experience, or job shadow is another step toward building a future that reflects your loved one’s unique strengths, passions, and goals.

Additional Resources

• TuCareers Disability Career Test: https://tucareers.com
• Hire Autism – Jobtimize Career Assessment: https://hireautism.org
• Charting the LifeCourse – Daily Life & Employment: https://www.lifecoursetools.com/lifecourse-library/foundational-tools/daily-life-employment/
• My Next Move Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
• National Disability Institute –https://www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org